Do Two-Year-Olds Have The Right To Bear Arms?

By Sam Bakken in News on Jan 18, 2005 8:18PM

On Sunday night police arrested 20-year-old Jamie Kindred for allegedly dealing marijuana on the South Side. Kindred was allegedly holding six bags of marijuana. During the arrest police say Kindred said they couldn't arrest him because he was supposed to be babysitting his girlfriend's two-year-old son that was home alone nearby.

And here's where it gets good. So, police went to Kindred's apartment to get the baby boy. When officers asked Kindred if there was anything they needed to know about, he warned them that there was a loaded gun in the house. And when they arrived at the apartment, they found the boy in a bedroom WITH A LOADED REVOLVER IN HIS HAND—HIS FINGER ON THE TRIGGER!

Fortunately the officers were able to disarm the infant without incident.

We imagine that before he went out, Kindred had a conversation with the child that went something like this:

"OK Billy. I'm going out for awhile, and your mother and I have decided that you're a big boy now and can handle being home alone without supervision."
"Ice cream!!! Ha ha ha weeeeeeeee!"
"That's right Billy, you like ice cream. Now, we want you to be safe, so I'm going to give you this revolver in case any strangers try to break in, OK? But you have to be really sure that you're in real danger before you shoot anyone. Because if you kill someone, you'll have to live with that for the rest of your life."
"BANG! BANG! Gun go POW!"
"Right Billy. I'm going to put two rounds in this here three fifty eight. OK? Just two bullets, so use them sparingly and be careful."
"WAAA! I NO WANT YOU GO!"
"Oh Billy, it's OK. I'll be right back. And remember, I'm not a stranger."

The mother was found at a party in Schaumburg and the child was returned to her. Kindred was charged with child endangerment and a number of other narcotics and gun charges.