Gun in 8-year-old’s backpack goes off in school, mom charged

Chicago police say a mom has been charged with youngster endangerment after a gun in her second grader’s backpack unintentionally discharged in school, injuring a 7-year-old classmate

ByThe Related Press

18 May 2022, 23:06

• 2 min read

CHICAGO -- A Chicago mom has been charged with little one endangerment after a gun in her second grader's backpack accidentally discharged at school, injuring a 7-year-old classmate, police said Wednesday.

The 28-year-old girl appeared in court docket on Wednesday on three misdemeanor youngster endangerment counts. A judge ordered her release from Cook County Jail on $1,000 bond.

During the hearing, prosecutors alleged that the girl's 8-year-old son found the gun underneath her mattress and took it to Walt Disney Magnet Faculty on the town’s North Facet on Tuesday. The mother has a legitimate firearm homeowners identification card.

In response to police, the backpack was in the boy's classroom when, simply earlier than 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the gun discharged. The Chicago Solar-Times reported that prosecutors mentioned during the hearing that the bullet ricocheted off the ground and grazed the kid's stomach. The kid was taken to a hospital in good condition, police mentioned.

In an e-mail to folks, the college's principal mentioned the bullet "brought about some debris to ricochet in your little one’s classroom, which hit a member of our school group and triggered minor scrapes.” The school did not reply to a request for comment on Wednesday.

A teacher then grabbed the backpack and gave it to safety officers who found a Glock 19 handgun inside, prosecutors stated throughout the listening to.

The girl's legal professional, Rodger Clarke, acknowledged that the gun should have been locked up and not just positioned beneath the bed. However, he said, “This wasn't something she planned or something she did on her own volition.”

Cook County Judge Michael Hogan was not impressed by that argument.

“This may occasionally not have been an intentional act, however it is a supremely negligent act,” he said.

He continued: “We are inches away, presumably centimeters away, from a very completely different case and a very completely different tragedy.”