Mother, boyfriend to face charges in fatal shooting of 3-year-old boy playing with gun in Detroit

Kyrei Boyd fatally shot himself with Demetrius Peals' gun, police say

A 3-year-old boy was shot on Detroit's east side Dec. 6, 2017. (WDIV)

DETROIT – A woman and her boyfriend will face charges in the death of a 3-year-old boy who fatally shot himself while playing with a gun in Detroit, officials said.

Police said the 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself Wednesday night at a home in the 11700 block of Rossiter Street in Detroit. The boy was playing with a gun when a shot was fired, police said.

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Kinesha Boyd, 20, and Demetrius Lorenzo Peals, 22, both of Detroit, will be charged in Kyrei Boyd's death.

Kyrei was shot around 7 p.m. and rushed to St. John Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police questioned the mother's boyfriend, Peals, who turned himself in Thursday morning after police announced he is considered a person of interest.

Police said Kyrei was playing with Peals' gun when it went off, fatally wounding him. Peals is accused of leaving a loaded firearm accessible to Kyrei while the child was in his care.

Peals is also accused of knowingly and intentionally tampering with evidence after the incident.

Boyd is accused of failing to provide a safe environment for her child and permitting Peals, who was known to carry a gun, to have access to her child.

Police said Boyd knowingly gave them a false statement regarding the death of her child.

Peals is charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree child abuse, tampering with evidence and three felony firearms violations. He is expected to be arraigned Saturday in Romulus.

Boyd is charged with involuntary manslaughter and lying to a peace officer. She is expected to be arraigned next week.

Police: Boyfriend ran out with child in arms

Assistant Detroit Police Chief Arnold Williams said the child was shot in the face. Williams said emergency medical officials were at the scene of a body that was found in the 11000 block of Morang Avenue when Peals ran out of an apartment building across the street with a child in his arms.

Police said Peals gave Kyrei to the officials, who realized the child had a gunshot wound on his face. Officials took Kyrei to St. John Hospital in critical condition, but he died from his injuries.

Peals was not seen after he passed Kyrei off to medical officials, but he turned himself in to police the next morning, officials said.

"It's senseless," Williams said. "There's no reason for any child to lose their lives. This should never happen. It should never happen. It's inexcusable."

Police originally were called to the scene to investigate a body that had been found across the street from the shooting. It's unclear if that person's death was suspicious or natural, but Williams said Kyrei was able to be brought to the hospital quickly only because medical officials were already right across the street.

Police: Mother said shots fired during neighbors' conflict

Williams said the mother told police there was a conflict between neighbors and the gunshot was fired from outside the apartment building, but officers didn't find evidence of shots fired from outside.

Williams said police believe the shot was fired inside the home. The mother was in the home with Peals, Kyrei and a 1-year-old child. Police believe the mother and the 1-year-old child were in another room when Peals ran outside with Kyrei.

No weapon was found inside the home. 

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About the Authors:

Derick is the Lead Digital Editor for ClickOnDetroit and has been with Local 4 News since April 2013. Derick specializes in breaking news, crime and local sports.