Stepmother of child who brought gun to South Holland daycare, where it went off, charged

Officials previously said 9-year-old is child of Harvey, IL police officer

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Thursday, April 6, 2023
Cop's child brought gun to suburban daycare, where it went off
The child of Harvey Police Department officer brought a gun to Happy Days daycare in the Village of South Holland, IL last week.

SOUTH HOLLAND, Ill. (WLS) -- The stepmother of a 9-year-old student who brought a gun to a South Holland daycare center last month has been charged in connection with the incident, a spokeswoman for the village said Thursday.

Andrea Marks was charged Wednesday with reckless conduct.

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services had previously been called in this case.

Officials previously said the 9-year-old is the child of a Harvey police officer.

It was not immediately clear if Marks was the Harvey officer.

The child attended Greenwood Elementary and had been picked up by Happy Days daycare staff from school.

The weapon was inside the child's backpack, and when the child put the backpack down, the gun went off.

The Harvey Police Department previously said it has not taken disciplinary action against the officer yet since the investigation is ongoing.

The video in the player above is from an earlier report.