Another Toddler Shot in Violent Spring for Detroit's Kids

DETROIT, MI – An argument over a spilled drink Wednesday left another toddler fighting for her life during what has been a violent and deadly spring for Detroit’s children.

The girl, 2, was sitting in a car with her father outside a home on Fairmount Drive about 7:40 p.m. when Cleveland Smelley, 31, allegedly fired one shot. The bullet missed and hit the little girl in the head, WWJ and other media are reporting.

“Back in the day if there was a fight, the winner went to jail and the loser went to the hospital. Now it seems that the winner, we end up getting in custody and the loser ends up in a casket,” Assistant Detroit Police Chief Steve Dolunt told WWJ. “I’m tired of that. And especially when it comes to kids, I have no use for an individual that would have total disregard for a child’s life.”

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There was some confusion early Thursday afternoon about whether the girl survived her injuries. Several media outlets reported that she had died, but a WDIV-TV reporter Lauren Podell tweeted that the mother of the girl, McKenzie Oldham, said she was still alive.

The Detroit Free Press quoted a St. John Hospital and Medical Center spokesman who said McKenzie is in critical condition.

Smalley and two others implicated in the shooting have been taken into custody and charges are pending. The other suspects’ names weren’t released.

On Wednesday, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced charges in a several of the recent shootings that have left children dead or injured. The weeks following Easter Sunday have been particularly dangerous in Detroit’s 8th precinct, where four children have been shot — either as bystanders or after accidentally finding firearms.

“Detroit and Wayne County have huge issues with children dying from firearm use,” Worthy said at a Wednesday news conference. “And no matter how much we sugarcoat it or say it’s not so or try to cover it up with stats about crime going down, it still remains an issue that we have to address.”

Those charged Wednesday included the grandparents of a 5-year-old who found a gun under a pillow and fatally shot herself, and the 80-year-old great-grandfather and mother of a 4-year-old who accidentally shot himself.

Also Wednesday, Wayne County Circuit Chief Judge Timothy Kenny unsealed an indictment charging Diallo Davis, 23, of Detroit, was charged with first-degree murder and other charges in fatal shooting of 3-year-old Aniaya Montgomery, whose Easter Sunday death began the string of fatal shootings involving children.

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