Detroit parents charged in nonfatal shooting of 3-year-old son

Correction: This article has been updated with information that the parents each were charged with one count of felony firearm, not two counts as the the Wayne County Prosecutor's Ooffice initially indicated.

Detroit — Detroit parents were charged Saturday in the nonfatal shooting of their 3-year-old son on March 9, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged Anthony Smith, 32, with second-degree child abuse, felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm. Tenisha Christian, 39, has also been charged with felon in possession of a firearm and felony firearm.

The parents were arraigned Saturday in Detroit's 34th District Court. Smith's bond was set at $10,000 and Christian's bond was set at $5,000. Their preliminary examination has not been set.

The incident occurred at 2:50 p.m. March 9 when Detroit police were called to a home on the 19100 block of Omira Street in response to a gunshot wound of a child.

When they arrived, officers found the 3-year-old boy with a wound on his left arm. Medics transported the child to a local hospital.

It is alleged that the child picked up an unsecured handgun in the home and shot himself in the arm, Worthy said.

Worthy charged Brianna Williams, 30, in connection with the nonfatal shooting of her 13-year-old son by his 10-year-old cousin. The incident occurred at about 12:30 p.m. March 9 at a home in the 19400 block of Justine Street in Detroit.

The 13-year-old boy had a gunshot wound to the right side of his forehead. Williams is expected to be arraigned on second-degree child abuse charges Sunday in 34th District Court.

“This case came to our office on the same day as another child shooting case, as a result of unsafe storage of a weapon," Worthy stated in a press release. "Way too many innocent, very young children have easy access to these deadly weapons and this situation usually ends up with a seriously injured or fatally wounded child. I do not understand why the adults cannot safely store their firearms."