Police: Boy, 8, fatally shot through house wall in Detroit

Associated Press

Wednesday, July 30, 2014 | 8:35 a.m.

DETROIT — An 8-year-old boy who was lying in bed early Wednesday died after a bullet fired from outside went through a home's wall and hit him, Detroit police said.

The child was struck about 1:15 a.m. Wednesday at his east-side home, and was taken to a hospital, where he died, police said. The boy's name wasn't released by police, but The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press identify him as Jakari Pearson.

Neighbors told WWJ-AM they heard about five shots. Several bullet holes were visible in the bricks and a window of an upstairs bedroom at the home. A superhero-themed bed sheet was on the porch.

Beatrice Spears, who lives nearby, left a teddy bear on the porch next to the sheet. Two of her children, ages 7 and 10, went to Spain Elementary School with Jakari and played in the same baseball league.

"Hearing the gunshots and I heard his mother screaming, so I ran around here," Spears told The News. "Seen him in the middle of the street, and I seen his mother in the middle of the street, also. Police were already here, they were just waiting on an ambulance."

Police Sgt. Michael Woody said investigators have a "good idea" of who they're looking for and are working to track that person down. Details about a suspect weren't immediately released and police said others are being questioned.