Neighbors stunned after 12-year-old is accused of shooting man to death

DETROIT (FOX 2) - A 12-year-old boy is in custody charged with manslaughter and accused of pulling out a gun - killing a Detroit man Monday night.

Neighbors we spoke with say this is a tragedy for both sides  - the 25-year-old victim and the boy accused of pulling the trigger on Mark Twain near Puritan on the city's west side.

Police arrived around 9:30 p.m. for a reported shooting. There they found a Devonte Relford laying on the ground outside of a house. He had been shot several times, with the 12-year-old said to have pulled the trigger.

"A 12-year-old should never have to be involved in grown folk situations," said Jen Dixon. "This was brought to his doorstep. he didn't ask for this."

These neighbors told FOX 2 what the 12-year-old boy is accused of doing, is nothing like what happens every other night on this block.  

"I have a 13-year-old and they were friends, we traveled with them, went to birthday parties and he just had everyone's back," said Jen Armstrong.

"I could send my boys out here and they would be like, 'Jen, I got them,'" Dixon said.

And the fact that this boy has been charged as a juvenile with manslaughter and felony firearm is hard to comprehend.  

"We are all going through something," Dixon said.

"I shed some tears, it's sad," Armstrong said.

And it also leads to other questions namely how does a 12-year-old get his hands on a gun.  

"We don't know that," Dixon said.

"We are all asking that question," Armstrong said.

According to the prosecutor, the shooting stems from some sort of argument, with the fatal shot striking the 25-year-old in the back.