Competency exam ordered for Detroit boy, 11, charged in toddler's death

Child charged with manslaughter and felony use of a firearm

DETROIT – A judge has ordered a mental competency exam for an 11-year-old Detroit boy who is charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 3-year-old boy.

The boy is charged in Juvenile Court with manslaughter without malice, as well as using a firearm during a felony.

Judge Frank Szymanski on Monday ordered the exam and set a next court date in September. The boy was released on bond but must refrain from being anywhere where a gun is present or stored.

Szymanski made a public appeal urging people to lock up their guns.

"If you have guns at home, under your car seat, in your home, in a closet or under the bed or in the attic, here's a message from the Third Circuit Court: you need to lock them up. We shouldn't be here on a case like this," Szymanski said. "If you have ever left a gun unsecured anywhere in your lifetime, for even five minutes, you can say a pray of thanks that you're not involved in the nightmare that is this case."

Police say the older boy took a handgun from a closet at his father's home last week and tossed it from a window into the yard. Police say he retrieved the gun and fired it, striking 3-year-old Elijah Walker in the face.

The older boy's mother, Kwanna Luchie, said they're sorry for what happened and that it was an accident.

"My son's not a bad child like everybody say he is. He's a good child," Luchie said.

She blames her son's father for not locking up his gun.

"He should get something, he shouldn't just walk away for free," Luchie said. "If my son have to go through this, he should too."