Detroit child shot to death in bed; police hold ‘person of interest’

An 8-year-old Detroit boy was shot and killed Wednesday while lying in bed, authorities said, and police are interviewing a “person of interest” in the case.

Detroit Police Sgt. Michael Woody, a department spokesman, told the Los Angeles Times that officers found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound to the chest around 1:15 a.m. local time.

An unknown gunman fired at least four shots at the house where the victim lived alone with his mother, striking the child in the chest while he lay in bed, Woody said.

He said officers immediately began to do CPR and that the victim was then rushed to Children’s Hospital of Michigan, where he died a short time later.

Police said investigators believe that the shooter was targeting the home, but did not say why. No one else was injured in the incident, authorities said.

Investigators said they are interviewing a “person of interest” in the case. The man, who did not turn himself into police, has a relationship to the victim’s family, Woody said.

“He’s being questioned but he is not a suspect as of yet,” Woody said.

He declined to identify the child or comment on the specifics of the relationship between the victim and the man in custody, but the Detroit Free Press and CBS Detroit, citing family members, have identified the victim as Jakari Pearson.

Detroit has been beset by violence and a budget crisis that has left the city locked in a lengthy bankruptcy procedure.

According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report, homicides rose dramatically in the city from 2010 to 2012, with annual totals jumping from 310 to 386 during that period.

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