A mother confessed on Friday to accidentally shooting her 4-year-old daughter while attempting to clean a gun after she initially told police that the child was injured during an attempted robbery.
The mother was taken into custody in Detroit after she admitted she fabricated a story about how her daughter was shot, Police Chief James White said Friday.
"We're trying to make everything line up with what the mom is telling us, we're trying to piece it all together," White said during a news conference, as reported by local station Fox 2.
Police first responded to the incident around 4 p.m. Friday after receiving a call from a hospital that a child was being treated for gunshot wounds, according to White. When officers interviewed the mother, she said the child was injured when a male suspect attempted to steal her purse and fired multiple shots toward them.
"As she was entering her home someone attempted to snatch her purse. When he was not successful snatching the purse, he fired multiple shots striking the 4-year-old child twice," White initially said of the case on Friday afternoon.
However, police announced nearly an hour later that the mother changed her story and said that the child was accidentally shot inside her apartment while she was trying to clean her own weapon.
Police responded by obtaining a search warrant for the apartment and are now continuing the investigation. The mother and daughter have not been identified publicly and charges have not yet been announced against the mother.
"We're going through a lot of information right now. The way that the call came in from the hospital, and we're trying to make everything line up with what the mom is telling us," White said on Friday.
"Regardless of how this story comes together, the bottom line is we have a 4-year-old baby shot at this house. We're going to put all of our efforts into getting the person who shot them, believe it. Our officers are going to work this case and we're going to get this person into custody," he added, according to FOX 2.
White said the child is still being treated for her injuries but is expected to survive.
Paul Markel, a former police officer and firearms instructor in Mississippi, previously told the Associated Press that accidental shootings commonly occur when gun owners are not given proper education on how to clean, load, or handle their weapons.
"Ninety-nine out of 100 times, there is not something wrong with the gun," Markel said, "It's the person holding it."
Last month, police similarly responded to an incident in North Carolina when a father accidentally shot his 15-year-old son in the head.
