Prosecutors have charged an 11-year-old boy in the shooting death of a 3-year-old boy at a home on Detroit’s east side.
The 11-year-old appeared on August 5 in juvenile court on charges of manslaughter with a weapon aimed with intent but without malice, as well as using a firearm during a felony. His name has not been released because he is not being charged as an adult.
His attorney asked for a competency hearing during the appearance, for which the boy’s parents were in attendance. Bond was set at $5,000 and a pre-trial hearing was scheduled for Aug. 10.
“I cannot remember a time where we have charged someone so young with taking a life,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “Very unfortunately and very tragically, the alleged facts in this case demanded it.”
The older boy took a handgun from a bedroom closet at his father’s home Monday afternoon and tossed it from a window into the backyard, according to Worthy’s office. He later retrieved the gun and climbed into a car parked in the yard. The 3-year-old got into the car and was shot once in the face.
The shooting remains under investigation. Authorities were attempting to determine if the boys were related, police said.
