Parents charged after 3-year-old brings loaded gun to Detroit-area daycare

Police say the parents of a 3-year-old Detroit-area boy who brought a loaded gun to a Michigan daycare in his backpack were charged with misdemeanor crimes Thursday. The firearm was passed to other kids before a staff member intervened, according to investigators. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy charged the child’s parents, Rabab Ibrahim Al Zayad and Brandon John Ely in connection with the unsafe storage of a firearm, according to a statement from the prosecutor’s office.

What happened? No one was injured Monday when the boy held a gun in a holster at the daycare, according to the Canton Police Department. The defendants’ 3-year-old son found an unsecured firearm in a backpack, which had been stored in the classroom, investigators said. The firearm was then passed to other students. A teacher observed the handgun, immediately intervened, and removed it from the children, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office.

Zayad was charged with one count of unsafe storage, a 93-day misdemeanor. Ely was charged with one count of fourth-degree child abuse, a one-year misdemeanor.

Prosecutor Worthy said that it was very unsettling to think about what could have happened if the staff member hadn’t intervened. She added that everyone is thankful that there was no loss of life at the daycare center.