From Chicago Sun-Times · · 2m
A bag on a school bus, a 12-year-old, one shot
Police say a man left a bag holding a gun on a Bridgeport school bus, and a 12-year-old found it and pulled the trigger.
In brief
Police say a man left a bag holding a gun on a Bridgeport school bus, and a 12-year-old found it and pulled the trigger. An unattended bag turned into a loaded gun in a child's hands within minutes, and the adult who left it, not the boy, is the one facing charges. Originally reported by Chicago Sun-Times.
A gunshot on the bus
On Monday afternoon in Bridgeport, on Chicago's South Side, a boy fired a gun inside a school bus. Police responded by charging a 22-year-old man.
“A Chicago man was charged after a boy fired a gun on a school bus Monday afternoon in Bridgeport on the South Side.”
The man police charged
Chicago police identified him as Steven Dixon Jr., 22, of Chicago. He was not the one who pulled the trigger, but police say the gun was his to account for.
One felony, two misdemeanors
Dixon faces a felony count of possessing or carrying a firearm on school property, plus misdemeanor counts of child endangerment and reckless conduct.
“Steven Dixon Jr., 22, was charged with a felony count of possessing or carrying a firearm on school property”
The bag he left behind
Police say Dixon left a bag on the bus around 2:25 p.m. Monday, in the 3500 block of South Wallace Street. Inside it was a loaded firearm.
“Police said a man left a bag with a loaded gun on a school bus in the 3500 block of South Wallace Street”
A 12-year-old finds it
A boy on the bus found the abandoned bag, opened it, and pulled out the gun. No adult stopped him between the bag being left and the weapon being in his hands.
One round goes off
The boy fired a single shot inside the bus, according to police. A confined space full of kids, and a trigger pulled by someone too young to legally hold the gun.
“a 12-year-old boy found the bag, took a firearm out of it and fired one round”
He grabs the bag and runs
Police say Dixon then took the bag back and fled the scene rather than staying to report what happened.
“Dixon Jr. then allegedly took the bag and fled, officials said.”
Nobody was hurt
The single round injured no one. That outcome was luck, not design, in a moving bus with a child holding a live firearm.
“No injuries were reported.”
Court the next day
Dixon was expected in court Tuesday, one day after the shot was fired. The allegations against him have not been proven.
“Dixon Jr. was expected to appear in court Tuesday.”
The main idea
An unattended bag turned into a loaded gun in a child's hands within minutes, and the adult who left it, not the boy, is the one facing charges.
