A Zion man, who prosecutors said was found with two guns, allegedly fired a shot from one apartment to another in Waukegan — nearly striking a woman who was lying on a bed.
Rodney C. Bradin, 36, of Zion, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, two counts of felon in possession of a firearm and criminal damage to property.
The Waukegan Police Department responded just before 9 p.m. on December 31 to Beechwood at the Preserve, 3040 West 8th Street, after receiving 911 calls of shots fired inside the apartment building.
A police report said a bullet went through several walls of an apartment.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Kelse Banks said a woman was lying in bed when the bullet went by and barely missed her.
Officers determined where the bullet had been fired from and learned multiple people were still inside the apartment, the report said.
Officers with ballistic shields surrounded the apartment and nearby units were evacuated.
Officers attempted to make contact with the people inside the apartment but those attempts were unsuccessful, the report said.
The occupants, consisting of several adults and children, eventually came out of the apartment.
Officers found two handguns, five magazines and ammunition inside the apartment.
A female resident of the apartment where the gunfire originated from told officers she heard a firearm discharge while Bradin and a second male were in the kitchen, Banks said.
She went to the kitchen and saw Bradin holding a gun, at which point he began apologizing, Banks said.
The woman told investigators she had previously seen Bradin with two guns.
Bradin said he was “manipulating” the firearm when the round went off, Banks said. The man said he was intoxicated and did not remember anything.
Bradin is a convicted felon and is not allowed to possess firearms.
He was out on bond at the time in a Lake County case where he was charged with leaving the scene of a crash with injury.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Bradin pending trial and Lake County Judge Theodore Potkonjak granted the petition during a hearing earlier this month.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for January 31.