Five-year-old Sturlin Minion Jr. died on December 9, 2023, in Detroit after finding a loaded handgun in his home and sustaining a fatal gunshot wound to the face. He had been playing and jumping on a bed with his four siblings, who were unsupervised at the time. Emergency responders found Sturlin with a critical wound at the family apartment on Greenfield Road; he was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.

The four other children, ages four to eight, were unharmed but witnessed the event and were placed in the care of Children’s Protective Services. The child’s parents, Halisa Lloydnette-Christine Brown, 25, and Sturlin Markese Minion Sr., 33, were arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, and firearm violations; Minion Sr. also faced a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Authorities described the shooting as preventable and urged safe firearm storage in homes with children.

Did anyone in the area know whether there were prior concerns about the household’s safety or firearm storage?