A Crestview, Florida, man is facing criminal charges after his grandchild took his gun to a Charles County, Maryland, public school and fired it. No one was injured.
Phillip McRay Bright, 68, was in Maryland visiting family and brought his gun with him. He initially reported the gun stolen to Prince George’s County Police on April 5, unaware that his 9-year-old relative had taken the gun on a morning when Mr. Bright took them to school, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said in a release Wednesday.
WTOP-FM identified Mr. Bright as the child’s grandfather.
On April 10, the child reached into the backpack while in class at Billingsley Elementary School in White Plains, Maryland, and accidentally fired the gun, a .357-caliber revolver. Although the backpack was between the student’s legs, neither the child nor any classmates were injured by the bullet, which went into the floor.
CCSO did not say exactly how the child got the gun, only mentioning Mr. Bright’s theory that the child, who got into the car before Mr. Bright one morning, opened a console to look for candy and instead found the firearm.
Mr. Bright has been charged with two counts of carrying, wearing, or transporting a loaded handgun in a vehicle and one count each of storing a loaded gun in a place accessible to a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a child.
He is due in a Charles County courtroom on May 30, according to court records.
