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Police: Boy Fatally Shot In Apparent Accident

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - A 9-year-old boy who was home alone with his teenage cousins has died after what Detroit police say appears to be an accidental shooting.

Officer Adam Madera said the incident happened just before 9 p.m. Monday at a home in the 11200 block of Roxbury, in an east side neighborhood near I-94 and Cadieux Road.

Officers responded to the home after receiving a 911 call from a man who said his stepson had been shot in the face with a shotgun. Police rushed the boy to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police said the boy and his three cousins, ages 17, 14 and 13, were alone in the house at the time of the shooting. Madera said the boy was apparently playing with the 14-year-old in the basement when the gun was fired. The older teen rushed downstairs after hearing the gunfire, Madera said, and found the boy wounded.

Investigators have not yet revealed how the gun was fired, but said it "appears accidental."

It wasn't immediately clear what the stepfather was doing at the time of the shooting. Police said he was not present at the home.

The owner of the gun used in the shooting, described as the boy's mother's significant other, is being held by police.

Names of those involved were not immediately released.

An investigation is ongoing.

TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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