Illinois Mom Charged After Loaded Gun In Boy's Backpack Goes Off, Injures Classmate

An Illinois mom was charged after a loaded gun in her 8-year-old son's backpack went off accidentally in school and injured a classmate, police said.

Tatanina Kelly, 28, was handed misdemeanor counts of child endangerment in connection with the incident, which took place Tuesday at Walt Disney Magnet School in Chicago's Buena Park neighborhood, Chicago Sun-Times reported.

During Kelly's hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said that her son found the loaded gun underneath her bed and took it to school the next morning. The firearm was discharged in the boy's classroom just before 10 a.m. ET, according to ABC News.

The bullet first hit the ground, ricocheted, and grazed the abdomen of the boy's 7-year-old unidentified classmate, causing a small laceration and redness. The child was taken to Lurie Children’s Hospital and is in good condition, Chicago Sun-Times reported, citing officials.

Judge Michael Hogan, during the hearing, scolded Kelly for being "supremely negligent" and said that it could have resulted in a far worse tragedy. "We are inches away, possibly centimeters away, from a very different case and a very different tragedy," the judge told Kelly.

After the firearm went off, the teacher grabbed the backpack and handed it over to the school security officers, who found a Glock 19 handgun inside, the prosecutors told the court, according to Chicago Sun-Times. Kelly reportedly has a valid Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card.

Defense attorney Rodger Clarke argued that it was a "one-time incident, not soon to be repeated."

"This wasn’t something she planned or something she did of her own volition," Clarke told the court. "How the kid knew there was a gun under the bed is beyond me. ... It’s not like she went out and did something purposefully that violated that law," he said.

"This may not have been an intentional act, but it is a supremely negligent act. We don’t know how (the child) knew the gun was under the bed ... but he obviously did because he went and got it," the judge said in response.

The judge indicated that the gun wasn't stored in a responsible manner and was within reach of the child. Kelly is being held in the Cook County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

Meanwhile, Pedro Martinez, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, told Chicago Sun-Times that the school district officials are currently in touch with the families of the students, ensuring that the officials are "going to continue to work with that school community" to prevent such dangerous situations.

"Anytime we see a gun coming into our schools it’s very troubling, especially when it’s an elementary school," Martinez said in a statement. "It was in a backpack, so it wasn’t that it was somebody trying to purposely use the gun in some way. But it just shows you the danger of having any of these weapons."