DETROIT -- A 7-year-old girl has died after being shot by a Detroit police officer who was searching a home for a homicide suspect.

Detroit police spokesman John Roach says officers with the department's Special Response Team went into the home about 12:45 a.m. Sunday with a warrant to look for a suspect in a Friday homicide.

Roach says an officer "had an encounter" with someone in the home as he entered and his weapon fired. Roach says other details about the situation are not yet clear.

The bullet struck and killed 7-year-old Aiyanna Jones.

Police say the suspect they were searching for was arrested.


he entered the home and his weapon fired! I've never heard of a gun that aims itself and pulls its own trigger.

wow. very sad indeed. nerves of steel he has not. a jumpy, trigger happy idiot behind a badge. let us pray to have less scared police officers in the force with a better head on their shoulders

Actually that isn't fair. I know cops. There are criminals they are after that are FLAT OUT SCARY! We are talking about people with absolutely NO regard for human life. They may have been after someone who is particularly dangerous. There was one guy in LA the cops were after that said he wasn't going to be taken alive. He was serious and not only took on the police when they came after him he actually barricaded himself in a home for hours until the police finally stormed the house. The hostage family got gassed and 'flashbanged' but they came out of it alive.

What sucks is the criminal they were after probably was hiding behind a family like so may others do. This is part of the reason I don't want to be a cop. I WOULD shoot someone. All they would have to do is say the wrong thing at the right time. One of my choice "trigger" phrases is "I'll get you when you are not looking." That in my mind is ALL the reason I would need to dispatch someone. Worst is having to stalk someone I know will kill me given the chance. I would be far less hesitant to just shoot before identifying friend from foe. I can care less how much an officer trains, they are human and they also don't want to die.

I'll bet money on the death being saddled on the man they were after. I don't have all the facts but I would bet money on the criminal they were after will be made to be the cause. Had he not have been hiding from the police the girl would never have gotten shot. Sadly all the "non lethal" means to neutralize criminals are either pathetically ineffective or totally illegal! Sorry but pepper spray is not all that effective.

They should " accidentally" arrest the police officer...I mean, come on!

Number one ... you have the right not to be killed

Murder is a crime ... Unless it was done by a Policeman

Know your right.

~Know Your Rights By The Clash~


Someone should see "The Biggest Gang In America"

i understand your point. but let me clarify....i also am very good friends with a few members of our local police, sheriff's office, and a couple of state boys. hell, my father in law is a captain. i know very well what is entailed in the risks of the job, and the demeanors they inspire. i have respect, but fully believe that not just anyone should be on the force. i'm sure you know what i'm talking about. that's all. and as unfortunate as it is, s*** happens. i get that. just hoping for a little discretion.

Or "accidentally" shoot him

It seems as if some details are left out of the news story. Per-say it was 12:45am when they entered the home. So had they in fact knocked on the door prior to entering and stated whom they where due to they would not open the door. What gave the Cops the knowledge he was staying there. There had to be a good reason for them to be there and to enter the way they did.

It does say in fact that the Police Officer had and ENCOUNTER WITH SOMEONE!! in case some over looked that one little issue that is when the gun went off. HELLLLLLLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO guns do tend to go off when there is a scuffle at times. Which most likely was from the one they were arresting. Yes it is sad the little girl had to pay with her life all due to a criminal. If in fact he had cared enough he would not have attacked the Cop that came in the door and this tragic accident would not have happened...


Sorry I refuse to go after a Cop for doing his job I'm sure if he meant that bullet to hit anyone it would have been the one that attacked him instead of a child.

here is an update:









A 7-year-old girl was shot and killed when an officer's gun went off during a struggle with a woman in a house where Detroit police were searching for a suspect in the slaying of a teenager, MyFoxDetroit.com reported.

Assistant Chief Ralph Godbee said at a news conference Sunday that Aiyana Jones was hit in the neck by a single bullet and died at a hospital.

"This is any parent's worst nightmare. It also is any police officer's worst nightmare," Godbee said.

Godbee reportedly said officers with the department's Special Response Team set off a flash grenade as they entered the home about 12:40 a.m. Sunday with a warrant to look for a suspect in the Friday slaying of a 17-year-old boy.

The lead officer encountered a 46-year-old woman immediately inside the front room of the house and "some level of physical contact" ensued during which the officer's gun went off, according to the station. The officers had reportedly identified themselves as police.

Godbee said Sunday that the shooting was being investigated and all information was preliminary.

"We cannot undo what occurred this morning," he said. "All we can do is to pledge an open and full investigation and to support Aiyana's family in whatever way they may be willing to accept from us at this time."

The officers had a search warrant and were looking for a 34-year-old man suspected in the shooting death of 17-year-old Jarean Blake.

Blake, a student at Southeastern High School, was gunned down Friday by a store in front of his girlfriend. Blake stumbled across the street, collapsed and died, police said.

Officers arrested the suspect inside the home where Aiyana was shot, Godbee said.

"This is a tragedy of unspeakable magnitude to Aiyana's parents, family and all those who loved her," Godbee said. "It is a tragedy we also feel very deeply throughout the ranks of the Detroit Police Department

Now that is something the "Anti Gun" people love to feed on is omitted facts. The girl was not just shot at! In all honesty I cannot see how a 7 year old girl and a 34 year old man compare size wise. There was something more to this! The perp attacked an armed officer and the gun went off in the struggle and the girl was a secondary casualty! That makes the man the police were after guilty of 3rd degree murder! AND THE MAN KILLED SOMEONE ELSE IN COLD BLOOD! Death Penalty time! Granted the family has to suffer but how about the cop who's gun killed that girl?

Let me tell the uninformed what he is probably going through right now! If I got this right and Officers of the Law please correct me if I am wrong on this...

1. he is relieved of duty for two weeks.
A. he is now being subjected to intense debriefing.
B. he also has to go to mandatory counseling with a psychologist.
C. he must also attend a hearing of BOTH the police force but the court (judicial review) as well meaning the DA is present.

2. If he was a person of any conscious he is torn to shreds inside. This means he is also on a special form of monitoring by a psychologist.


This could mess an officer up so bad it may ruin a perfectly good officer. The perp should DIE! If he was in Texas he would be on the fast track to a hanging! In Michigan I bet all he gets is life in prison! That is not good enough!

Blech !

I must say I'm totally with you Andy and glad I live in Texas..........

And according to the update on the News story my theory was right the officer was attacked which in fact made the gun go off...

Ya know what is sad is the one that actually caused the gun to go off will play the total victim here when in fact due to their actions the results happened. While they put all the blame on the Cops and want even act as if they took a part within it.

And the Cop will live with it the rest of his life that it was his bullet that killed a 7 year old....... now that is F***** up in my book....

There was a physical confrontation with the 49 year old woman when the police entered the house.

THAT is when the officer's weapon discharged.

Do you seriously think that, even in Detroit, a police officer would wantonly shoot a 7 year old child in cold blood??

Come on, now.

Sorry to disappoint the crowd who believes the cops can do nothing right, but I'm not gonna rush to judgement and automatically assume the cop did something wrong. First FACT to consider is the he was at the house LEGALLY and IN PERFORMANCE OF his sworn duty 'to serve and protect'. It's sad that the shooting occurred, and sadder still that a young child was the victim, but things happen in fractions of seconds and aren't automatically 'intentional' on the part of the officer. The story says that the officer had an 'encounter' with a 46-year-old woman immediately upon entry. At the risk of making my own assumption, this woman was more than likely a member of the 'HLJ' ('Holy Lawd Jesus!') crowd who's sure 'he's a GOOD boy! - he wouldn't DO that!' ... seen it too many times. It happens. It's reality. It's not far-fetched to see how it could happen here. According to the story, it was during this encounter that the officer's weapon discharged. WHY did it discharge? We don't know. He probably had his weapon unholstered. This is more than likely, since the perp had already killed a teenager. This makes him 'armed and dangerous'. The one thing we can be certain of is that the officer did NOT intentionally fire at the unfortunate victim. The perp who killed the 17-year-old is a 34-year-old male, and if anyone were targeted, the officer would have had the perp in his front sight. The fact that this occurred as it did strongly suggests outside interference with the officer in the performance of his duty. One thing's unchangeable: Once the bullet is fired, it can't be called back. The officer knows that. The most logical causal factor in this case appears to be external influence and interference with the officer. All it would take is for the woman he initially had the 'encounter' with to push his arm aside as he held his weapon. Reflexes can cause muscles to contract in a 'startle response' - that's enough to pull a trigger at the wrong time and fire an unaimed round unintentionally. I defend the officer and his actions until evidence to the contrary proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that he intentionally fired on the victim.

How can you criticize and officer for following procedure. They were making a felony arrest. That means mom gets to face Felony Interference with an arrest charge for one! Next, you said she was probably one of those "Lawd Jesus Help me" crowd. If she grabbed for the gun (and I bet money she did) Then HER hand guided the fatal shot! Mom should have taken the bullet instead!

The thing they did wrong was they should have maced mom from the beginning the moment she proved to be belligerent! Even then people can go from meek and compliant to DEATH KILL DESTROY in no time flat.

If they made a reasonable attempt to identify themself first,,, there is no crime here. Remember, it was late at night, I might not hear someone at my door if I am in a deep sleep and if I wake up to a room of GAS and some strange figures roaming in,, I might fight too


of course, all responses in this forum call for alot of speculation and its best to give about three to four weeks before something even remotely close to 'the whole truth' is revealed.

They now say there was a video crew from A&E following the raid for one of their shows and the video doesn't quite add up with what the police say happened..

Still early into the investigation, so we will have to wait until more comes out..

thats usually the case with media,, first reports are sensationalistic and as time goes on they become more concerned with actual facts,,,