Mother charged after 7-year-old took gun to school, classmate grazed
CHICAGO — The mother of an elementary school student who took a gun to school in a backpack — which “accidentally discharged in the backpack while inside a classroom,” and grazed another student in the stomach — has been charged and will appear in court Wednesday, Chicago police said.
Tatanina Kelly, 28, faces three misdemeanor counts of causing a child to be endangered, said Kellie Bartoli, a police spokeswoman. Kelly is due to appear in court later Wednesday.
The charges stem from an accidental shooting Tuesday morning at Disney Magnet School in Buena Park. A student at the school in the 4100 block of North Marine Drive took the gun to school in a backpack.
Around 9:50 a.m. the gun, still in the backpack, went off inside a classroom, causing a bullet to hit the ground, ricochet and graze the abdomen of another student. That student was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital in good condition, authorities said.
According to published reports, the student who took the gun to school was a boy in second grade and the injured student was a 7-year-old boy.
School Principal Paul Riskus emailed a letter to parents with students in that classroom, as well as a letter to all parents with additional details. It suggested the injured student was hit with flying debris from where the bullet struck rather than the bullet itself. It also explained the student suffered “minor scrapes.”
“I would like to acknowledge how incredibly challenging (Tuesday) was for all of us. As a parent, staff member, or community member of the school, the news received was emotionally difficult. The safety of our students ... is the top priority,” it said. “We will work diligently to learn from this experience and will strive to rebuild the sense of safety that was jeopardized (Tuesday).”
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