Background: News footage of the scene in Lansing, Mich., where a 4-year-old girl died of a gunshot wound (WILX). Inset: Maliki Pendergrass (Lansing Police Department).

Authorities arrested 22-year-old Maliki Pendergrass in connection with the death of the young girl, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on January 21 in Lansing. According to a statement from the Ingham County Prosecutor’s Office, accessed by Law&Crime, police were called to the scene at 11:40 a.m. They discovered the child with a gunshot injury to the head. Despite efforts by first responders, the girl was pronounced dead at the location.

Prosecutors reported that the firearm was “improperly stored” in the residence. Details regarding the connection between Pendergrass and the girl have not been disclosed to the public.

Pendergrass, who had a previous felony conviction, was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. He now faces six felony charges related to firearms, including two counts of failing to safely store a weapon. He is currently detained by the Lansing Police Department with bail set at $1 million. His court hearing is scheduled for February 6.

In a statement, Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane remarked that the child’s death was “completely preventable.” He emphasized that the incident could have been avoided if the firearm had been stored securely, as mandated by Michigan law, using appropriate safety measures like a gun lock or safe. Dewane stated, “One life lost is one too many, and we must do everything in our power to protect our children from preventable tragedies like this.”

In his press release, Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney John Dewane called the death of the girl “completely preventable,” adding that it “would not have occurred had the firearm been safely stored as required by Michigan law, using a gun lock or gun safe. One life lost is one too many, and we must do everything in our power to protect our children from preventable tragedies like this.”

Local NBC affiliate WILX spoke to neighbors who lived at the same apartment complex where the fatal shooting took place. One woman who did not want to appear on camera told the station through tears, “[T]hey need to put the guns down. They just need to put them down, they need to go find something better to do.”