Gun owner charged after boy, 7, brings loaded handgun to school

ELGIN, Ill., Dec. 13 (UPI) -- A man whose handgun allegedly was found in the school backpack of a 7-year-old Elgin, Ill., boy was charged and held on $250,000 bond, court records said.

After hearing prosecutors refer to Rashaad Byrd's record of over 40 previous arrests Thursday, Kane County Judge Christine Downs set the high bond amount. Byrd, 27, was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, no firearms owner's identification and child endangerment.

The charges came after a police report said an unidentified boy brought the loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol into the Harriet Gifford Elementary School in Elgin. Police secured the building and seized the weapon, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Police said they determined Byrd was staying at the apartment of the child and his relatives, and that Byrd was the gun's owner. They added the child found the weapon and took it to school.