Mom charged after 6-year-old son brings gun to Norristown school
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- A Montgomery County mother is facing charges after police said her son brought her gun with him to school.
Jasmin Devlin, 30, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment for not properly securing a gun, the Montgomery County District Attorney's office said.
The 6-year-old child, who was not named, was showing the gun to students on a bus to Gotwals Elementary School, according to an affidavit of probable cause. According to that document, a group of students ran into the school and told the school secretary that a student showed them a gun and bullets.
Police were called to the school and found Devlin's son with a Marvel superhero bag. Detectives found a 9mm Jimenez Arms handgun and eight loose bullets in the bag.
The 6-year-old told detectives he was looking for a laptop charger in Devlin's room when his 10-year-old brother pulled the gun out of a drawer and started playing with it. The younger brother told police he was scared he was going to be shot.
The younger son also told detectives he had a bad dream that night, went to his mom's room, took the gun and put it in his backpack.
Police said the incident happened Thursday, Feb. 9 and no students were harmed.
The gun was purchased in a March 2022 "straw purchase" from 33-year-old Norristown man Joseph Rudnitskas. He was arrested the following month on felony charges relating to illegal gun sales
Norristown Police Chief Michael Bishop spoke highly of the children who notified the secretary as soon as they saw the gun on the bus last week.
"I would like to commend the children who notified school officials immediately, thus preventing another tragedy at a school," said Bishop. "These children are the true heroes in this unfortunate incident."
Devlin turned herself in Tuesday and was arraigned, with bail set at $50,000. She was ordered to have no contact with children.