Education

Mom Charged After 8-Year-Old Allegedly Brings Gun To School And It Discharges, Injuring Classmate

Photo Credit: Screenshot/YouTube/Public-User: CBS Chicago

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A Chicago mom was charged after her 8-year-old child allegedly brought a gun to school and the firearm accidentally discharged, injuring another student, ABC News reported Wednesday.

Tatanina Kelly appeared in court Wednesday where she was charged with three misdemeanor counts of child endangerment in connection with the incident, ABC News reported. The incident allegedly occurred at Walt Disney Magnet School around 10 a.m. Tuesday. The gun reportedly discharged by accident from inside the 8-year-old’s backpack, according to ABC News. The bullet struck the ground and ricocheted, grazing the stomach of the child’s classmate, Chicago Police said.

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Following the incident, a teacher took the backpack and gave it to school security officers, who discovered it contained a Glock 19 handgun, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The 8-year-old, identified as male by the Chicago Sun-Times, reportedly found his mother’s gun under her bed. (RELATED: Elementary School Student Brings Loaded Handgun To School, Says He Wanted To ‘Shoot Zombies’)

Judge Michael Hogan who presided over the case in court Wednesday labeled the act as “supremely negligent,” according to The Associated Press, in a response to Kelly’s lawyer saying his client didn’t “plan” the alleged incident at her son’s school.

“This may not have been an intentional act, but it is a supremely negligent act,” Hogan said, according to the outlet. “We are inches away, possibly centimeters away, from a very different case and a very different tragedy.”

Chicago Public Schools CEO Pedro Martinez said district officials have been in touch with the families affected by the incident and counseling has been made available to students, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. The 7-year-old student who was grazed by the bullet as a result of the alleged incident was taken to a local hospital in good condition, the outlet continued.

Hogan ordered Kelly’s release from prison on $1,000 bond.