Police say a toddler in Dearborn, Mich. accidentally shot and injured two other children at a home day care facility in suburban Detroit.
Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad says that a preliminary investigation has revealed the toddler “accessed a handgun and the weapon discharged” about 10:20 a.m. Wednesday.
The wounded children both are believed to be 3 years old. The two have been hospitalized in critical, but stable condition.
Haddad says that the gun was kept in the Dearborn home, west of Detroit.
Several other children were reportedly at the home at the time of the shooting. Those children were all taken to the police station to be reunited with their parents.
The shooting is still under investigation and No one has been charged.
Hidden Camera Shows Nanny Throwing Baby
A home surveillance system is not a necessity for most people. In a safe and friendly world, nobody would need them. However, sadly, that’s not the case.
Sometimes things happen that make you feel the need to put surveillance cameras outside and inside your home.
This was the case for 31-year-old Mom Annemarie Theron. She noticed unusual marks on her baby daughter’s body, and decided to set up a hidden camera to see where they were coming from.
She and her husband, Johan, were suspicious that the injuries may have been inflicted by their nanny, Nicolin Hoeses.
Hoeses was hired by the family, to look after their nine-month-old daughter Laila, who the Theron’s noticed seemed “frightened” of.
Only a few hours after installing the ‘nanny cam’, Theron saw shocking footage of Hoeses throwing the baby into her cot.
She grasps the baby by the neck with her one hand and then throws her with force face-first into the cot.
The baby is heard screaming and crying in the video, to which the nanny appears to show absolutely no concern. She then snatches the baby up again – by the leg – and carries her away.
The family live in Namibia, however, Theron is from Zimbabwe.
Theron first noticed bruises on Laila’s feet in July, however, she said she didn’t want to be “a paranoid first-time mum“, and didn’t feel comfortable confronting the nanny without proof. “I did not want to make her angry towards me and put my child in danger,” she said. “It was very difficult to leave each morning to go to work.” After viewing the disturbing footage, Theron said she “cried and cried” while cradling the upset baby:
“When I saw what she had done to Laila, I cried and cried. I held my baby girl close and kept telling her I was so sorry.
“I had so many emotions – betrayed, and a complete failure as a mum. It was the worst feeling I have ever had and never ever want another mother to have to go through that.”
The video footage was immediately given to the police, who had arrested the nanny after watching what happened.
Hoeses has already appeared in court and was charged with attempted murder. She was denied bail and will remain in custody until October. She has 4 children of her own.
Hoeses was hired as a nanny through the recommendation by friends of the Theron’s, who had previously employed her as a nanny for their two children.
“They feel absolutely terrible now,” Theron said, “they had had no suspicions about her at all, but are now doing their own investigations with the children with the help of a therapist.”
Theron revealed that the child refused to sleep, eat or drink for a couple of days after the incident because she felt so emotional after watching the footage. “It’s difficult to imagine how long this has been going on for,” she said. “I can see Laila is so, so broken after everything.”
Theron is now taking Laila to work in the afternoons after she attends playgroup in the morning. She emphasized just how unfortunate her situation was and that not all child-minders are bad.
The Theron’s may consider getting a new nanny, but it will take some time for them to trust people again.