Dad in custody after 11-year-old shot by sibling with unsecured gun, Detroit police say

The father of an 11-year-old who was shot by a sibling with an unsecured gun on Wednesday on Detroit's west side is in custody, police said. 

Detroit Police Chief Todd Bettison says the child, who was shot in the face with a handgun, was taken to a hospital and is in critical condition.

The shooting happened in the 8000 block of Artesian Street. According to police, a neighbor called 911 at about 2:19 p.m. on Wednesday to report a shooting. Three children, ages 11, 9, and 4, were inside the home alone at the time of the shooting, Bettison said. 

Police have not said which child fired the gun. They also haven't said why the father is in custody or whether he has been charged.

"This is so preventable," Bettison said. He said people often assume there is only one gun in a home. "I know people who don't even know how many guns they have in the house," he said.

He asked gun owners to take inventory of their weapons and secure all of them, using a large gun safe if a gun lock doesn't work.