A five-year-old Detroit boy died after he was twice shot in the face in what his family said was an “execution-style” killing. According to FOX 2 Detroit, the incident occurred at a home along Evergreen Rd and Fenkell St. on Sunday.
The minor, identified as Caleb, wasn’t the only person found murdered. The bodies of his mother, Lashon Marshall, and her boyfriend, Aaron Benson, were also found with gunshot wounds in the home.
Detroit Police said the bodies of the three victims were found by a family member who had gone to the home to check on Caleb and Marshall because they hadn’t been heard from. Police who responded to the scene found Caleb’s body in a separate room.
“I received the most devastating news of my life, that my grandson had been killed,” Caleb’s grandmother, Shalesa Floyd recalled. Investigators who spoke to the news outlet said they did not think the victims were killed on Sunday.
“What mindset can anyone be in that would shoot a baby in the face intentionally?” Sherry Gay-Dagnogo, a former state representative who is also related to Caleb, said. “You have to be heartless. There is one thing to even a score or have issues with an adult but a child? A child is off-limits.”
Floyd also said the perpetrators could have just left her grandson “there alone”, and she “would have come get him.” “He could have grown up to be anything he wanted. He’s our future, he was our future. Why would you take my grandson from me?” she questioned.
“Seeing his pictures now I’m just lost, I’m devastated – and to know some of the details of what happened is just devastating to me and my son.”
The incident has also left Caleb’s father devastated, Floyd added, per FOX 2 Detroit. “He loved to travel with his dad and with his mom,” Floyd said. “He was her only child. He’s only 5, so he had not much life to live.”
Meanwhile, two unidentified teens have since been arrested in connection with the triple murder. Police said they were able to locate and arrest the suspects – aged 16 and 17 – after they received tips. “We have high confidence the individuals are responsible for this heinous act,” Detroit Police Commander Michael McGinnis said.
And though officials are yet to establish the motive behind the killings, it was confirmed the victims knew the two suspects. “This case, like so many others, has tugged at the heart and spirit of this department,” Detroit Police Chief James White said.
A review of the case should be handed over to the prosecutor in the days to come.
