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Man accused of shooting 2-year-old arrested

Posted at 1:32 PM, May 26, 2016
and last updated 2016-05-26 16:55:49-04

A 2-year-old girl remains in critical condition after she was shot in the head on Detroit's east side on Wednesday. 

Earlier this afternoon, police had confirmed the girl had passed away. That statement has since been corrected. 

The shooting happened in the 16400 block of Fairmont, near Kelly and 8 Mile. Police say two men were fighting outside of a car when the shooting occurred.

One of the men is the father of the little girl, the other is the suspected shooter, Cleveland Smelley.

Police say Smelley pulled out a gun and fired one shot at the other man, missing him and hitting the little girl in the head. She was sitting in her car seat when she was shot.

Asst. Chief Steve Dolunt is outraged about the continued gun violence, where innocent victims end up being the target.

"I'm tired of kids getting shot.  Whether it's carelessness with weapons or blatant stupidity, we can only do so much.  We can't police stupid.  We can't, it's not against the law to be stupid, when you pull out a gun and there are kids in the area, common sense would tell you not to do it," said Dolunt.

Police confirmed they arrested Cleveland Smelley on Thursday afternoon. 

Smelley has a criminal history that includes assault charges and, police say, he was on parole at the time of the shooting. 

Cleveland's brother, Antoine, was also arrested in connection with the shooting. 

Stay with 7 Action News and WXYZ.com for the latest on this breaking news.