A Class 2 student in Chicago brought a gun to school where it accidentally discharged and grazed a classmate, ABC7 reported. The eight-year-old boy found the gun under his mother's bed, the report further said.
The 28-year-old woman, charged with child endangerment, appeared in court on Wednesday. A judge ordered the woman's release on from Cook County Jail on $1,000 bond but not before scolding her.
"We are inches away, possibly centimeters away, from a very different case and a very different tragedy," Chicago Sun-Times quoted Judge Michael Hogan as telling the woman.
The incident took place at Walt Disney Magnet School on Tuesday morning. The police said that the bag was in the boy's classroom when just before 10am, the gun discharged.
During the court hearing, the lawyers said that the bullet struck the ground, ricocheted and grazed the abdomen of a seven-year-old boy, according to Chicago Sun-Times.
The boy was taken to a local hospital, the report further said.
After the incident, the teachers handed over the student's bag to school's security officers, who found a Glock 19 handgun inside.
The lawyers said the woman had a valid firearms' license, according to Chicago Sun-Times.
The defence lawyer pleaded for the woman's release, arguing that it was a “one-time incident, not soon to be repeated”.
The angry judge, however, countered saying it was a "supremely negligent act" and hoped people will take this seriously.
He added that this indicates the gun was readily accessible and not stored in a manner that would have prevented the boy from obtaining a loaded gun.
