DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 5-year-old Detroit boy is recovering after police say he was hit by a stray bullet while riding his bike in front of his home. His family says he is now traumatized and too afraid to go back outside.
Watch Randy Wimbley's video report:
Investigators believe the gunfire came from nearby Fargo-Oakfield Park, just south of 8 Mile Road, where a group of teenagers were allegedly playing with a gun Tuesday evening. Sources say police have a 15-year-old boy in custody in connection with the shooting.
The boy's father, who asked not to be identified or have his face shown, described the moment his son Kayzier was hit.
"He just learned how to ride his bike, no training wheels, no nothing. He said, I got it. I said, Naw. I went to go hold the bike, he said, 'No, I got it.' He took off down the street… and all of a sudden he fell off the bike."
The father said he rushed to his son's side, unsure at first what had happened.
"So I'm trying to see what's going on, and he's just holding his arm with his hand. So when I open his hand up, I don't see nothing, but then I just see a bunch of blood squirting from his arm."
Kayzier was rushed to Children's Hospital. His family says the bullet narrowly missed an artery. After being released, they took him back to the hospital hours later because of severe pain and continued bleeding. He is now back home and expected to recover.
Negus Vu with the community violence intervention group The Peoples Actions says cases like this are happening far too often.
"This is a situation where gun safety definitely needs to be more put out there. There needs to be education around that. We also, as a community, need to wrap our arms around these kids — not necessarily be judgmental or point fingers. We need to be more solution-oriented," Vu said.
Kayzier's family says the emotional trauma may last far longer than the physical wounds.
"He's still in shock. He don't understand what happened. He's in shock still. He don't want to come outside, he don't want to ride his bike, he don't want to do nothing," his father said.
When asked what he would say to the person responsible, the father had a simple message.
"They know what they did. All I can do is just say stop. Just stop. Just stop."
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