Police said five children were left alone in the car near Gratiot and Harper.
DETROIT, Mich. — A 6-year-old girl was fatally shot inside a parked vehicle Monday afternoon on Detroit’s east side after children left unattended in the car accessed a handgun that was not secured, police said.
The death renewed scrutiny on how firearms are stored around children as Detroit police investigate what happened inside the vehicle and why a gun was within reach. The case also came as officers referenced other recent accidental shootings involving children and unsecured weapons in the city, adding urgency to calls from officials for safe storage.
Police said the shooting happened shortly after noon on March 2 in the parking lot of a shopping plaza near the intersection of Gratiot Avenue and Harper Avenue. Investigators said the girl’s mother drove to the area to pick up food and went inside a business, leaving five children in the vehicle. The children were all age 12 or younger, police said. During the brief time the mother was inside, a handgun kept in the vehicle discharged and the 6-year-old was struck in the head, police said. One of the children ran into the business to alert the mother, but First Assistant Detroit Police Chief Charles Fitzgerald said it was too late. “These things are so preventable,” Fitzgerald said during a briefing at the scene.
Authorities said they are still working to determine exactly how the gun was handled and who fired it. Police said they do not yet know where the handgun was located inside the vehicle, whether the girl touched it herself, or whether another child picked it up before it fired. Fitzgerald said investigators are interviewing family members and collecting evidence from the vehicle to reconstruct the moments leading up to the shot. He described the mother as distraught as officers and medics responded. Police said the girl and relatives were taken to a hospital, where the child later died. Officers did not immediately release the girl’s name or details about the firearm, including who owned it.
Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said in a statement that the loss was “absolutely heartbreaking” and said the circumstances made the death feel avoidable. Sheffield said she instructed her office of Neighborhood and Community Safety to work with the Detroit Police Department and community partners to expand education and resources focused on gun safety. Police have said the case is part of a troubling run of child shootings tied to unsecured weapons in Detroit. In separate incidents referenced by authorities, an 8-year-old boy was injured after accessing a gun, and another 6-year-old was hospitalized after an accidental shooting involving an unsecured firearm. Police have not said whether the cases are connected beyond the similar circumstances.
Michigan has a secure firearm storage law that took effect in February 2024. The law generally requires gun owners to keep unattended firearms unloaded and locked with a locking device, or stored in a locked box or container, when a minor is present or likely to be present. The penalties can increase when a minor obtains the firearm and someone is injured or killed. Fitzgerald said investigators will present their findings to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office after they complete interviews and review evidence. Police did not announce charges Monday, and it was not immediately clear when prosecutors could make a decision.
Investigators said the scene unfolded in broad daylight at a busy commercial corridor, with patrol cars and emergency vehicles arriving in the shopping plaza lot as family members and bystanders looked on. Fitzgerald, who said he has briefed the public on similar cases before, appeared shaken as he spoke to reporters and emphasized that safe storage can prevent children from accessing guns. He said officers will also review how the weapon was brought into the vehicle and why it was left unsecured while children were inside. Police said the other children in the car were not physically injured in the shooting, but they are considered key witnesses because they were present when the gun discharged.
Detroit police said they provide free gun locks and have encouraged residents to use locking devices and secure containers to keep firearms out of children’s reach. Officials said the investigation will continue with additional interviews and a review of the firearm’s ownership and handling. Police said they expect to share updates after detectives complete their initial case file and forward it to prosecutors.
Author note: Last updated March 3, 2026.