DETROIT (KRON/CNN) — An 11-year-old boy is facing manslaughter charges, after police say he used his father’s gun to shoot and kill a 3-year-old boy in Detroit.
Investigators say the 11 year-old was visiting his father’s house on Monday at around 1:40 p.m. on Detroit’s east side, when he took a handgun from a bedroom closet and then threw it out a window into his father’s backyard, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office said.
The boy retrieved the gun and jumped into a vehicle parked in the yard. A short time later, a 3-year-old entered the same vehicle, the Prosecutors Office said.
It’s unclear what unfolded after both boys were inside the vehicle, but it all ended with the toddler being shot once in the face and killed.
The 11-year-old isn’t being identified because of his age. In addition manslaughter, he also faces an additional felony firearm charge according to Mark Bernardi of the Wayne County Prosecutors Office.
The family of the 3-year-old, Elijah Walker, has started a GoFundMe page asking for help with funeral expenses.
“I cannot remember a time where we have charged someone so young with taking a life. Very unfortunately and very tragically, the alleged facts in this case demanded it,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a news release.
The boy appeared in court for a preliminary hearing in the Juvenile Detention Center on Wednesday afternoon. He was held on $5,000 bond. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Monday.
It was not immediately clear whether there would be additional arrests. Bernardi says that the prosecutor’s office was reviewing a request for a warrant related to the shooting, but he provided no further details.
Attempts by CNN to reach Beverly Anthony Walker, the lawyer representing the 11-year-old, have been unsuccessful.
CNN’s Camille Cava contributed to this report.