A Maryland man is accused of leaving a loaded gun accessible to a 7-year-old boy, who authorities said brought the weapon to his elementary school and accidentally shot himself, according to police and news reports.
The gunshot went off inside a classroom at Freetown Elementary School in Glen Burnie the morning of Wednesday, February 4, according to the Anne Arundel County Police Department.
When officers arrived at the school, they learned that the child accidentally shot himself, the department said in a news release that day.
At that point, a teacher had “secured the weapon, rendered aid to the student, and notified the school administrators, who contacted the police,” reads a statement on the incident.
The boy accidentally shot himself in the hand, according to police, CBS News reported.
He was taken to a nearby hospital for the non-life-threatening injury, police said. No other children were hurt in the incident.
In an update on Thursday, February 5, police said that detectives discovered the boy had gotten ahold of the gun from his home.
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Now, 34-year-old Eashan John Stefanski, of Pasadena, is charged in connection with the shooting, authorities said.
Stefanski is the child’s mother’s boyfriend, police confirmed to CBS News.
The morning of February 5, Stefanski was served a criminal summons charging him with leaving a loaded firearm accessible to a minor, according to police.
It was not immediately clear whether Stefanski had retained legal representation. An attorney was not listed for him in court records viewed by NewsPlop on February 5.
The Anne Arundel County Police Department did not immediately respond to an inquiry from Us on February 5.
Fifteen other students had been in the child’s class when the gun went off on February 4, according to Anne Arundel County Public Schools Superintendent Mark Bedell, WBAL-TV reported.
All elementary school students were sent home early that day, at around 11 a.m., Bedell said, according to the TV station.
“There’s a lot of trauma — not only within the students who were in this building, but also the faculty and staff,” Bedell said, according to WBAL-TV. “I can assure you that my reaction would have been exactly [how] these parents were reacting, filled with a boatload of fear.”
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The Anne Arundel County Police Department said the county’s Crisis Response is available for families of the school community who are seeking resources as a result of the shooting. The school has also made services available to support students, police said.
“We are very grateful that the teacher was very responsive in addressing that child’s injuries and making sure first responders were notified,” Police Chief Amal Awad said of the incident, according to CBS News.
In Maryland, leaving a loaded gun in an area where a child can access it is punishable under “Jaelynn’s law,” which went into effect in 2023.
If convicted of the offense, which is a misdemeanor, a person could be fined up to $1,000, according to the Law Offices of Thomas C. Mooney.