Holly MatkinHowell, MI – The two-year-old child of a Dearborn police corporal was fatally shot on Sunday evening while playing with an unsecured gun.
The incident occurred at a home located in the 1900-block of Oak Squire Lane at approximately 6 p.m. on June 11, The Detroit News reported.
According to the Howell Police Department (HPD), the two-year-old child accessed an unsecured firearm inside the home, pulled the trigger, and was accidentally shot, Livingston Daily reported.
Emergency medical personnel rushed the wounded toddler to a local hospital, where the child was pronounced dead.
The Dearborn Police Department (DPD) confirmed the child’s father is a corporal with the police department, The Detroit News reported.
“This incident is a serious personal family matter, and we are respecting the privacy of the Officer and his family during this difficult time,” the DPD told the news outlet in a statement.
The investigation into the tragic incident remains ongoing, WJBK reported.
It is unclear who the gun belonged to.
“[I’m] devastated. It’s a horrible tragedy. I’ve never seen anything like this,” one of the family’s neighbors, John McGlinchey, told WJBK. “From my front door, I could see after a while what I take to be a paramedic carrying a child from the garage to the ambulance.”
McGlinchey said he didn’t know the family or how long they have lived in the home.
“As a responsible gun owner with children in the home, you shouldn’t have any sort of access to firearms for the kids,” he told WJBK.
The HPD and the DPD refused to release any further information about the ongoing investigation, Livingston Daily reported.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office also responded to the scene but declined to comment on the case, according to ABC News.
Less than two months prior to the fatal shooting, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed off on legislation mandating gun owners store their firearms safely.
