WARREN, Mich. – Officials say the 8-year-old boy who accidentally shot himself in the face is recovering in the hospital.
The incident occurred on Friday (April 19) after he found an unsecured handgun inside of his home at the Cove on 10 Apartment Complex on 10 Mile and Hoover roads.
Warren police got to the scene immediately and took that little boy to Ascension St. John for emergency surgery, where he was breathing on his own. His heart was beating on his own, too, but he was still in critical condition.
Officials say the gun was not secured, but with the new gun safety bills that passed through the Michigan legislature, It now makes what occurred a felony.
Warren detectives walked in and out of the apartment for several hours, trying to break down what occurred, who the gun belonged to, whether it was registered, and why it wasn’t secured.
“When we got here, we found an 8-year-old child that had suffered what appears to be a self-inflicted gunshot to his head,” said Lt. Greg Booton with the Warren Police Department. “The child was still alive and still breathing and conscious when we got here. We rushed him with our fire department to St. John Hospital, where he is currently in critical condition.”
This little boy wasn’t home alone as his parents were there, and his younger brothers and sisters were.
Why and how he got his hands on the gun are still under investigation. But a new Michigan law passed just this year makes what happened here a felony.
Adults who fail to secure their firearms in a house where children are present face a host of charges. However, if a child fires a gun, it can be anywhere from a five to 10-year felony with a hefty fine.
“There are laws now in place,” Booton said. “If you don’t keep your firearms secured and if things happen with them, then you’ll go to prison. Unfortunately, this is the worst-case scenario, but it is why we have laws like this. We give away free gun locks at our desks. We implore you that if you have a firearm and you don’t have a way to lock it up in a safe, please come see us. We will get you a gunlock for your gun.”