Detroit child shot as he slept called 'good boy'

DETROIT — Police said an 8-year-old boy died after being shot at a home on the city's east side.

Police said a bullet fired from outside went through a wall at about 1 a.m. Wednesday and struck Jakari Pearson, who was resting in an upstairs bedroom. He was taken to a hospital and died.

Several bullet holes were visible in the bricks and window of an upstairs bedroom of the home.

Neighbors said gunshots aren't unusual in the area, but they couldn't recall a child ever being killed.

Beatrice Spears, 27, has three children, ages 10, 7 and 3. The boy who was killed was an "innocent bystander," she said, adding that he would often play with her kids.

"It's just such a tragedy," Spears said. "I'm not gonna be able to sleep."

No arrests were immediately made, but Detroit police were speaking with a "person of interest" in the case, Detroit Police Officer Adam Madera said. An autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, Wayne County medical examiner's office spokeswoman Mary Mazur said.

The boy's family members at a nearby townhome declined to speak with the Free Press. At one point, a man identified as his father charged nearby reporters, yelling as another man pulled him back.

Outside the shooting scene, what appears to be a sheet or pajamas with superheroes on it was left on the townhome's stoop. Spears brought a stuffed animal and placed it at the top of the steps. Neighbors and passers-by added to the makeshift memorial with stuffed bears, dogs and other toy animals. Propped on the toys were handwritten cardboard signs that read: "CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE!" ''GIVE OUR CHILDREN A CHANCE" and "UNITED WE STAND … STOP THE VIOLENCE!!!!"

Spears said a candlelight vigil for the boy is being planned.

Next-door neighbor Tenesha Higgins said there were "five or six" very loud booms — something she said is common in the complex.

"I was just laying down to sleep," said Higgins, 30. "I heard the gunshots. It sounded like it was literally in front of the house. I waited, then I heard screaming and police sirens.

"I opened the door and the boy was laying in the street," she said, adding it appeared the mother's boyfriend was trying to rush him to the hospital.

"He was a good boy," Higgins said. "He liked to play baseball."