Florida mom sent her kindergartner to school with a loaded gun in his backpack, cops say

A mother faces two charges after she allegedly sent her kindergartener to school with a loaded revolver in his backpack.

The mom missed her second court date in October, earning a second charge for contempt of court, WFLA reported.

On May 4, an officer at Taylor Ranch School in Venice, Florida, contacted the sheriff’s office after school police found a student had brought a gun to school, according to WFLA.

Cops determined that the weapon was “stolen out of [the county's] jurisdiction,” WFLA reported.

According to sheriff’s documents obtained by WFLA, the kindergarten student opened his bag at school and found a black case.

Inside the case was a silver handgun which he brought to the teacher’s attention, according to WFLA. The teacher contacted a school police officer, who discovered the firearm was loaded.

After the school officer unloaded the firearm and “made it safe,” the sheriff’s office contacted the child’s parent, Ariana Carroll, who came to the school and was interviewed, according to WFLA.

Carroll told police that she “had put the cased firearm into the child’s backpack the night before as she was cleaning out her vehicle,” WFLA reported.

She said it happened after visiting her newborn in the hospital, and she’d forgotten to take the gun case out of the bag before her son went to school, according to WFLA.

According to the affidavit, the gun had been reported stolen by Caroll's boyfriend in 2019 when the two lived together, according to WFLA.

Carroll told deputies that she was worried about possessing the gun “because she did not want to get into trouble for possessing a stolen firearm or making a false report,” according to the affidavit obtained by WFLA.

She told deputies that she planned on turning the gun into law enforcement and put the weapon in her vehicle but removed it along with her son’s bag after her father said he wanted to borrow the vehicle, WFLA reported.

Carroll appeared in court on Sept. 20, but missed her next scheduled appearance on Oct. 4, WFLA reported. When she failed to appear, police issued a warrant for her arrest, according to WFLA.