State Investigators Probing Unlicensed Day Care Operation Where Toddler Shooting Happened

DEARBORN, MI — The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs has opened an investigation against Samantha and Tim Eubanks for running an unlicensed child care facility at their Harding Street home in Dearborn, according to department spokesman Pardeep Toor.

Two 3-year-old boys were shot at the home-based child care by a toddler Wednesday morning. They remain in serious but stable condition as of late Thursday afternoon, according to Dearborn Police.

An investigation of the incident is ongoing by the department. Exact details about how the gun was obtained by the toddler and from where in the house remain sketchy. Spokesperson Maria Miller said charges, if any, would come after Dearborn Police present the case to Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy.

Toor said there is “no license or registration for any individual to provide child care” at the home, which sits in the 3600 block of Harding on the city’s southwest side. He added that there are no complaints on file with the department.

Any actions against the Eubanks for running an unlicensed child care would be taken after LARA completes its own investigation, Toor said. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Dearborn Patch, click here to find your local Michigan Patch. Also, follow us on Facebook, and if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Related: How to a daycare center in Michigan

Per state law, a family child care home is defined as a “private home in which one but fewer than seven minor children are received for care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage, or adoption.”

The law, which was updated by the state in 2014, also says that a family child care home includes a home in which care is given to an unrelated minor child for more than four weeks during a calendar year.

Neighbors said the Eubanks’ home has been used as a child care facility for longer than that standard. Carole Rittenberry has lived at her Carlysle Street home for more than a decade and shares a backyard fence with the Eubanks.

She said the couple moved in about four years ago. Rittenberry said she has observed the children all summer.

“I just thought there were too many kids over there all the time,” she said. “Sometimes there’s 10 or 12 in that yard playing.”

Under state law, a “group child care home" means a private home in which more than 6 but not more than 12 minor children are given care and supervision for periods of less than 24 hours a day unattended by a parent or legal guardian, except children related to an adult member of the family by blood, marriage, or adoption. A Group child care home includes a home in which care is given to an unrelated minor child for more than four weeks during a calendar year.

Rittenberry said the kids that were being cared for at the Harding Street home are “all toddlers.” She said they seemed to be well cared for, but “they’d be out there in diapers and bare feet. We’re talking about 18 months old — little guys.”

Dana Mihalik helps provides in-home care for an elderly patient adjacent to the Eubanks. She said she doesn’t know them, but has observed the daycare with parents picking kids up after work.

“I’ve seen five or six kids being picked up when their parents come after 5:30,” Mihalik said. “Most of them, I’d say are toddlers and up.”

She agreed with Rittenberry and added that she was concerned for their safety prior to Wednesday’s incident.

“I’ve seen the kids out running close to the street,” Mihalik said, “I’ve seen them with no shoes on and I’ve seen them in pajamas running on the front lawn.”

Rittenberry said neither she or any neighbor that she knows of had any run-ins or problems with Tim or Samantha Eubanks. She said it could be noisy at times.

“Kids play,” Rittenberry said. “Kids are loud.”

She described her neighborhood as tightknit where folks look after each other. Rittenberry she often socializes with her neighbors.

“This was devastating for all of us,” she said. “We all knit and crochet together.”

Top photo by Scott Daniel (Patch Staff)