Suspect in custody after 7-year-old girl, her mother shot in Detroit, police say
A suspect is in custody as Detroit police continue to investigate a shooting that injured a 7-year-old girl and her mother on Monday, police confirmed.
The suspect's name and pending charges were not given at that time.
The shooting happened in the 8000 block of Farnsworth. Police Chief Todd Bettison says the incident appeared to stem from an argument over a group of young children, ages 7 and 8, who had been fighting earlier in the day. After the shooting, the man fled the scene in a white GMC Terrain.
Both the girl and her 29-year-old mother are expected to recover from their injuries.
Neighbors who witnessed the aftermath described a chaotic and bloody scene as they rushed to help the wounded mother and daughter.
"It's crazy. It's crazy. It's really sad," one neighbor said.
Another witness, who asked not to be identified on camera out of fear for her safety, said she entered the home shortly after the shooting and found both victims bleeding.
"And I went into the house, and I seen the mother bleeding," the witness said.
"The daughter was hollering in the front room at first, and then she came towards me and sat on the floor, and I seen her hand bleeding right here."
The woman said she immediately tried to help the victims, describing blood throughout the home as neighbors worked to determine the extent of their injuries.
"So instantly I am telling them let's take her shirt off, while I still got the mom and the neighbor was telling me to take the shirt off, I said, 'No, she's hit right there, I see black, a black spot, she's hit," the witness recalled.
Another neighbor, Phyllis Irvin, described the severity of the injuries and the frightening moments following the gunfire.
"She was bleeding real bad, they were saying that the baby kept fading in and out, and that she had got shot," Irvin said.
The shooting has left residents of the neighborhood shaken.
"Everyone over here is very terrified," one witness said.
For Irvin, one of the most troubling aspects of the shooting is that an altercation between children allegedly prompted an adult to resort to gun violence.
She said parents should take a more active role in supervising children and teaching them how to handle disagreements without violence.
"For one, we need to watch our kids more; we need to sit out here and watch them play," Irvin said. "Don't come and shoot nobody, that's a bit much."
Other neighbors echoed that concern, questioning how an ordinary childhood dispute could escalate into a shooting that left two people injured inside their own home.
The incident has also raised concerns among residents about their safety, particularly after a shooting that witnesses say began with children playing in a neighborhood park.
"This is senseless. It doesn't even make sense. I'm just really disgusted by it," Bettison said on Monday.
In a statement Monday, Detroit Mayor Mary Sheffield said her administration is "committed to changing the culture of settling conflict with weapons in our city."
The above video originally aired on Oct. 12, 2026.
