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

Chicago police say a mom has been charged with baby endangerment after a gun in her second grader’s backpack accidentally discharged at college, injuring a 7-year-old classmate

ByThe Associated Press

18 Might 2022, 23:06

• 2 min read

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

The 28-year-old lady appeared in court on Wednesday on three misdemeanor baby endangerment counts. A decide ordered her launch from Cook County Jail on $1,000 bond.

In the course of the hearing, prosecutors alleged that the girl's 8-year-old son discovered the gun underneath her mattress and took it to Walt Disney Magnet School on town’s North Aspect on Tuesday. The mom has a legitimate firearm house owners identification card.

In line with police, the backpack was within the boy's classroom when, simply before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, the gun discharged. The Chicago Sun-Occasions reported that prosecutors stated during the listening to that the bullet ricocheted off the floor and grazed the kid's stomach. The child was taken to a hospital in good situation, police said.

In an electronic mail to folks, the college's principal stated the bullet "brought about some debris to ricochet in your youngster’s classroom, which hit a member of our school group and induced minor scrapes.” The college didn't respond to a request for touch upon Wednesday.

A trainer then grabbed the backpack and gave it to security officers who discovered a Glock 19 handgun inside, prosecutors mentioned during the listening to.

The lady's attorney, Rodger Clarke, acknowledged that the gun should have been locked up and never simply positioned under the mattress. However, he stated, “This wasn't something she planned or one thing she did on her own volition.”

Prepare dinner County Judge Michael Hogan was not impressed by that argument.

“This will likely not have been an intentional act, but it's a supremely negligent act,” he stated.

He continued: “We're inches away, presumably centimeters away, from a really different case and a really totally different tragedy.”