Eleven-year-old boy charged with manslaughter after shooting dead three-year-old Elijah Walker

AN 11-year-old boy has been charged with manslaughter after shooting dead a toddler.

The boy has been ordered to undergo a mental examination by a Detriot judge after he appeared on Monday.

According to prosecutors, the boy was playing at his father’s house in Detroit, Michigan, when he found a loaded gun in a bedroom closet. He threw it out the bedroom window into the backyard.

“He then retrieved the gun and entered a vehicle parked in the father’s backyard,” Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy’s office told MLive.

Elijah, who was with his mother visiting a friend, followed him into the car and “a short time later was shot once in the face,” Worthy’s office said.

“I cannot remember a time where we have charged someone so young with taking a life,” Worthy said in a prepared statement.

“Very unfortunately and very tragically, the alleged facts in this case demanded it.

“The charged respondent here will remain in the juvenile system, but the case remains under investigation. As a result of that, I will not say more at this time.”

“He was always smiling,” cousin Jannee Hill told Fox10 Pheonix. “A happy, happy little boy. Curious, but he was a very happy little boy.”

“I just remember the smile he had,” added cousin Tameka Cash. “It would make you smile.”

Judge Frank Szymanski ordered a mental competency examination to determine if the accused has the ability to understand the murder charge and an independent psychological examination, reported CBS Detriot.

“I pray it won’t happen again,” Judge Szymanski said.

The 11-year-old was mostly silent during the hearing and with TV cameras in the courtroom, Szymanski said it was appropriate to remind the public to keep guns out of the reach of children.

“Kids find guns. It’s their nature,” he said. “A gun can be a magnet to kids.”

Outside court, the 11-year-old’s mother Kwanna Luchie cried as apologised for what happened.

“It was an accident,” she said.

Earlier, she had said the boy’s father should be held responsible.

“He should get something, he shouldn’t just walk away for free,” she said. “If my son have to go through this, he should too.”

The boy, who is on bail and is being charged as a minor, will retu to court on September 9.

If convicted of the charges, the maximum sentence would keep him in jail until he is 21.

A GoFundMe page has been created to help the family. Elijah has two older sisters.