Authorities said that during a visit to her family’s Kenwood apartment last Sunday, a south suburban woman and concealed carry holder decided to take a shower as the home’s four young children, including her 5-year-old foster brother, settled down for naps.
But before taking the shower, prosecutors said Danya Bell made a decision she’d come to regret minutes later: She tucked her purse containing her loaded 9mm Glock handgun underneath a pile of toys and clothing in the boy’s room.
Moments later, Bell and her sister were startled by a gunshot and found that the boy, Demeir Aston Douglas, shot himself between the eyes in his bedroom, according to prosecutors.
Bell appeared on felony child endangerment charges on Wednesday before a judge, who denied a detention petition and allowed the woman to go home pending trial following the boy’s death.
Boy, 5, killed after finding gun in sister’s purse, authorities say
During the hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, prosecutors said Bell, who lives in south suburban Lansing, was visiting the Kenwood home in the 4400 block of South Greenwood Avenue.
Demeir was the foster child of Bell’s mother, who wasn’t present at the home during the shooting, authorities said.
Just before 1:20 p.m., Bell’s sister ordered the four young children, including Demeir, to their rooms to take naps. After Demeir had gone to his room for a nap, prosecutors said Bell concealed her purse in the boy’s room, then went to take a shower, according to the prosecution’s proffer of allegations.
Assistant state’s attorney Jennifer Karr said the boy discovered the loaded gun in Bell’s purse and shot himself in the head. The gunshot alerted Bell and her sister, who found the mortally wounded boy.
Karr said that when Bell spoke with a 911 dispatcher, she admitted leaving her purse and gun in the boy’s room. The boy was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities said that both Bell and her sister were valid concealed carry license holders and that Bell had only purchased the firearm last Spring.
Judge Luciano Panici Jr. denied a petition seeking pretrial detention, but ordered Bell to surrender FOID and firearms and to refrain from possessing a firearm or other dangerous weapon during the case.
Bell returns to court next month.