Chicago firefighter arrested after daughter posts Snapchat with his rifle

A Chicago firefighter was arrested and charged with two gun violations after his daughter posted a picture of herself on social media holding his rifle and making a comment about not shooting up her school, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The firefighter, 6o-year-old Michael Matuszewski, was charged with failure to properly secure a weapon from a minor, and possession of an assault weapon within the city. Chicago has an assault weapons ban.

What happened?

A 14-year-old girl posted a photo on Snapchat, showing her holding a rifle. The photo was captioned, "Don't worry. I won't shoot up Lane." She is a student at Lane Tech High School.

Chicago police called the weapon an "assault rifle." School officials, when they first saw the picture, believed the gun was fake. Authorities confirmed it was a real weapon, a Sendra model rifle, when they went to the home.

The girl is not being charged with any crimes, as police determined that she was not making any threat to the school, according to a statement from school administrators.

Although her comment raised alarm after a several incidents of deadly gun violence at schools in recent months, the school did not go on lockdown.

"Earlier this afternoon, we were notified of a social media posting resembling a potential threat to our school," the statement read, according to the Tribune. "Please note that the posting did not contain an explicit threat. The Chicago Police Department and CPS Office of Safety and Security were immediately notified to investigate this situation. Upon completion of their assessment, CPD deemed that there was no threat to the school and at no time was there ever any safety risk to students or staff."

Fire Department investigation

The Chicago Fire Department did not say whether Matuszewski would face any discipline for the situation, but expressed concern for the peace and safety of students and said it would conduct an internal investigation.



(H/T: WBBM-TV)