10-year-old, after taking her mom's gun, told neighboring child "I'm not afraid to use this," charges allege

A 35-year-old Minnesota woman has been charged with negligent storage of a firearm after her 10-year-old daughter allegedly took her gun and threatened their neighbor with it.

Court documents say the Washington County Sheriff's Office received a call from the principal of Scandia Elementary School regarding an email they received from a parent. In it, the parent said her child was not allowed to go on a field trip scheduled that day because they had "broken the biggest rule in the household, which is to not touch guns." The email indicated the child had taken a gun from her mother's vehicle and pointed it at a neighbor down the street.

According to the charges, the mother told investigators she had been sleeping when her roommate notified her that her daughter had the firearm, which she says was a Beretta 9 mm handgun that she had left in the center console of her vehicle. She acknowledged there was an incident involving a neighboring child but said she was unsure of the details. 

In a follow-up conversation, the criminal complaint says the mother confirmed that at the time of the incident, the handgun had five rounds in the magazine but no rounds in the chamber. She does have a valid permit to carry.

The other child involved told a deputy that he had seen the 10-year-old girl near the end of her driveway when she went into a vehicle and grabbed a gun. Charges say the boy indicated the girl removed the gun from the holster, pointed it at him and said "I'm not afraid to use this." He then ran away.

If convicted, the mother could be fined up to $3,000 and/or sentenced to no more than 364 days in jail.