DETROIT – The grandparents of a 5-year-old Detroit girl who died after shooting herself in the neck with a gun she found at their home have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, child abuse and other gun charges.
Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said Frederick Davis and Patricia McNeal, both 65, are expected to turn themselves in Thursday.
Mariah Davis was being watched May 11 by her grandparents in their home on Oakfield Avenue when she found the gun under a pillow, Worthy said.
In the last 17 months, Wayne County has had 8 children either killed or hurt by guns that they were handling, Worthy said.
“Everybody in this universe knows that Detroit and Wayne County have issues, huge issues, with children dying from firearm use. No matter how much we sugarcoat it, or say it’s not so, or try to cover it up with more stats with crime going down, it’s still remains an issue we have to address," Worthy said. “Most of the time, children know where they are, even if parents think that they don’t.”
Worthy said gun violence goes beyond crime, "It's a public health issue."
“All of this is totally and completely and absolutely preventable," she said.
Great-grandfather, mother of 4-year-old charged
Joseph Williams, 80, and Andrea L. Drewery, 30, both of Detroit, are facing child abuse and felony firearm charges in connection to a shooting in November involving Drewery's 4-year-old son.
The 4-year-old found his great-grandfather's handgun in their home on Terry Street and shot himself in the hand, Worthy said.
It is alleged that Williams and Drewery had knowledge that the unsecured handgun was in the home and accessible to the four-year-old and his young brother.