DETROIT (WXYZ) — Detroit police say a 6-year-old girl has died after being shot with an unsecured gun inside a vehicle on the city's east side Monday afternoon.
Watch Whitney Burney's video report:
According to police, the child's mother came to a plaza in the area of Gratiot and Harper avenues around noon to get food.
Hear the latest update from police in the video below
We're told the mother went inside and left five children in the car unattended. While they were in the car, the child was shot with the unsecured gun that was also inside the vehicle. Detroit police say the children are all 12 years old and younger.
Police say one of the kids ran inside to get the mother, but unfortunately, it was too late.
Right now, police aren't sure where the gun was in the car, and if the child accidentally shot herself or was shot by another child inside the vehicle.
This is the third time in the past week that a child in Detroit has been shot with an unsecured weapon.
On Tuesday, Feb. 24, an 8-year-old boy got ahold of an unsecured gun and accidentally shot himself. He was in stable condition.
Then on Sunday, a 6-year-old found an unsecured gun and shot themselves in the chest and the hand. That child was hospitalized in stable condition.
Detroit police do offer free gun locks for families to make sure the weapons can be safely secured at home. You can contact a local Detroit police precinct for more information.
