O.K. Parents, Seriously Now, It's Not Cool To Arm Your Children

By Sam Bakken in News on Aug 25, 2005 7:12PM

We've always wondered what kind of parent needs to be reminded or encouraged to get their children to school (if you're one of them, the first day of school is Tuesday, Sept. 6). Then we read a story from yesterday about Keisha McCrea and realize that a lot of kids are fighting an uphill battle here in Chi-town. McCrea allegedly left her 7-year-old son home alone in her second-floor apartment at 6354 S. King Dr. with eight loaded weapons and 26 grams of crack-cocaine. Officers were responding to a report of a man selling drugs at the location when they entered the apartment.

In the boy's bedroom, police found a TEC-9 in a closet. In a room across the hall they found a 20-gauge shotgun and six other handguns. Police allegedly found one gun in a toy box. McCrea arrived home during the search and police took her into custody. An eight-year-old and an eleven-year-old were playing just outside the apartment. She's charged with three counts of child neglect, three counts of child endangerment, and one count of leaving guns accessible to children. But police are allegedly searching for the father of one of the boys, an alleged member of the Four Corner Hustlers gang, to whom they believe the guns belong.