MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (FOX 2) – A 9-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the hand with an unsecured pistol in Madison Heights on Friday afternoon.

Police say the victim is in stable condition after shooting himself in the left hand with the gun at around 1:30 p.m. inside a residence in the 30,000 block of Palmer.

An arrest was made, but the relationship to the victim is unclear.

Police said the child’s parents took him to a hospital in Royal Oak, where police met them and began their investigation.

“It’s completely preventable, and that’s the sad thing about it – and it happens far too often,” said Madison Heights Police Lt. David Koehler. “Every gun has a safety device on it. The police have these devices for free, so it’s far too easy to prevent.”

The Madison Heights Police Department will refer the case to the Oakland County District Attorney’s Office.

If anyone has information regarding this incident, please contact Detective Lieutenant Koehler at 248-837-2732 or the Madison Heights Police Department at 248-585-2100.

“This should be a lesson for everyone,” Koehler said. “Hopefully everyone will be careful and remember that it can happen to anyone. And just keep your firearms safe.”

On February 13, a firearms safe storage law went into effect, requiring that unattended firearms be unloaded and secured with a cable lock or stored in a gun safe when a minor is present.

Since then, cable gun locks have been available free of charge at all local health departments and several police departments in Michigan.

No further information has been released.