A U.S. Army soldier from Kentucky is charged with reckless discharge of a firearm after accidentally shooting his sister in the leg in Mundelein on Thursday, attorneys said.
Daniel Marquez, 24, a soldier serving in Fort Hamblin, Kentucky, was on vacation and visiting family in Mundelein when he accidentally shot his sister while “dry-firing” a weapon, attorneys said in court Friday.
Reckless discharge of a firearm is a Class 4 felony and punishable by up to three years in jail. The charge is also probationable.
A prosecutor from the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office said in First Appearance Court on Friday morning that police officers from Mundelein received a call from Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville to report a gunshot wound.
The victim told police she returned home from work and went to her bedroom when Marquez walked in holding a weapon, prosecutors said.
She thought the magazine was out of the gun when Marquez entered the room, prosecutors said.
The next thing she realized she had been shot in the leg, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said the defendant told police he had the firearm in his hand when he walked into his sister’s room, and the gun just went off.
He said he was “dry-firing” the weapon and didn’t realize there was a round in the chamber.
Dry firing a weapon means to practice firearm handling without live ammunition in the weapon.
Prosecutors said Marquez provided a breath sample about three hours after the shooting and blew a BAC of 0.043.
The gun and the spent round of ammunition were recovered by police, authorities said.
Lake County prosecutors have filed a motion to detain the soldier in jail until trial. That detention hearing is scheduled later this afternoon.
Defense attorneys said the sister is “fine,” and that she, along with the rest of her family, was present in court Friday morning in support of Marquez.
Marquez was ordered by Lake County Judge Stephen DeRue to have no contact with his sister before the hearing on Friday afternoon.