Mother charged after gun in child’s backpack went off at a Chicago school, injuring classmate

CHICAGO — A mother in Chicago has been charged with child endangerment after a gun in her second-grader’s backpack accidentally went off at school and injured a classmate earlier in the week.

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The Associated Press says an unidentified 28-year-old woman had been charged with three counts of misdemeanor child endangerment and issued a $1,000 bond after a gun in her son’s backpack allegedly went off and injured a classmate on Tuesday. The gun is owned by the mother and she has a valid firearm owners identification card, according to the AP.

The Chicago Sun Times identified the mother as Tatanina Kelly, 28. The newspaper says the bullet hit the ground and grazed the stomach of a 7-year-old boy. He was taken to the hospital and is in good condition. The teacher grabbed the backpack and found the gun inside.

According to the Associated Press, Kelly’s attorney Rodger Clarke said in court that the gun should have been locked better and this was not something Kelly had planned to happen. The judge didn’t agree with his argument.

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

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