Chicago Girl Shot When Gun Hidden Between Mattresses Discharges

By Chuck Sudo in News on Mar 26, 2012 4:40PM

A Chicago man has been charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon by felon after a gun he hid under a mattress shot his girlfriend's five-year-old daughter while was jumping on the bed.

Jarquise Upton also faces misdemeanor charges of possession of ammunition and theft of lost or mislaid property.

The incident happened around 12:20 p.m. Saturday when the girl was playing on the bed. The gun, police said, was sandwiched between two mattresses and the girl was shot in the ankle. She was treated at Comer Children's Hospital and was in good condition following treatment.

Upton is due in court today. His girlfriend, understandably angry that her daughter was shot, quickly gave him up as the owner of the gun. Upton later told police he found the gun in a gangway and kept it for "protection from my girl’s baby daddy who messes with me." Upton kept the gun in the backyard until March 19, when he brought it inside the home.