WARREN - Police said they still have a lot of unanswered questions about the Thursday evening shooting in which a 5-year-old boy wounded his aunt on the city's northwest side.
According to police, the boy shot Ashlee Austin, 20, of Woodbine Avenue S.E., in the torso about 9 p.m. while they were in a vehicle in the driveway of a home at Northwest Boulevard.
Warren police Lt. Jeff Cole said the boy possibly found the gun in the car and shot the woman through the seat. Cole said police have not determined who owns the gun.
"We have a lot of unanswered questions and it's still an ongoing investigation," Cole said.
Police were searching the car Thursday night, and it is not clear whether investigators recovered the gun.
Police said Austin was transported to St. Joseph Health Center in Warren. Although an official hospital update on her condition was not available on Friday, Cole said that she is recovering and that she had been responsive when police spoke to her Thursday night.
Cole said investigators have not yet determined whether anyone, such as the gun owner, will be charged in the shooting. He said detectives will confer with the prosecutor's office once the investigation is complete to determine whether to file charges.
Cole said it is his understanding that the boy is OK.
"He's only 5 years old so it's hard to say if he even understands what happened," Cole said, emphasizing that police believe that the shooting was accidental.
Cole said there may have been another person in the vehicle, but that has not yet been confirmed. A police report listed a 5-year-old boy and a 6-month-old girl each as "other." A Shawna Lenee Dorsey, 19, 2475 Northwest Blvd., N.W., Warren is also listed on the police report; however, her connection with the case is not clear.
A second 19-year-old woman, Shana J. Dorsey, also of 2475 Northwest Blvd. N.W., is listed as a witness.
When contacted by a Tribune Chronicle reporter seeking information about Austin's condition, a woman who initially identified herself as Shana Dorsey, said family members are not allowed to talk about the shooting and that she would not be accepting any more telephone calls related to the matter.