A holster did not stop a toddler accessing a loaded gun. His parents now face different charges

The daycare described the handgun as secured in a holster. But a three-year-old could remove it from his backpack, and a teacher saw children passing it around. Whatever protection the holster provided, it did not prevent a loaded gun from reaching children’s hands at Children’s World Early Learning Center in Canton, Michigan. Staff secured the firearm; no shots were fired and no one was injured. ^{3 6}

Both parents have now pleaded not guilty, but they face different charges. Brandon John Ely, a Detroit police officer, is charged with one count of fourth-degree child abuse. Rabab Ibrahim Al Zayad is charged with one count of unsafe firearm storage. The distinction matters: this is not simply a pair of identical unsafe-storage cases, and neither charge is a finding of guilt. ^{3 7 9}

Ely, 28, and Al Zayad, 27, were arraigned on October 1, 2026, in the 35th District Court in Plymouth. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy brought the charges following the September 28 incident at the center on Sheldon Road. ^{7 8 9 11}

NBC News’s October 1 coverage described both defendants’ misdemeanor charges in unsafe-storage terms. The Detroit Free Press’s October 1 reporting and Police1’s account identify Ely’s actual charge as fourth-degree child abuse, while the Free Press identifies Al Zayad’s as unsafe storage. The reported one-year maximum belongs to Ely’s child-abuse charge; the 93-day maximum belongs to Al Zayad’s storage charge. These are potential penalties, not sentences already imposed. ^{3 7 9}

The fuller names in local reporting also correct the renderings Brandon Eli and Rabab Alzad used in NBC’s coverage. Those spellings refer to the same two defendants, not different people. The accounts establish the reported charges, court appearance and pleas, but the underlying charging documents, arraignment orders and complete court docket were not available for independent examination. ^{3 7 9}

The daycare’s letter to parents, obtained by NBC News, said the firearm was inside the child’s backpack in a holster. It said the boy removed it and staff immediately intervened. The police account described a teacher seeing the handgun being passed among students before police were called. ³

Those descriptions establish children’s access and the staff response, but they are not a complete, timed reconstruction. They do not establish how many children touched the weapon, how long it was in their hands or whether anyone pulled the trigger. Calling a holstered gun secured should not be mistaken for evidence that it was locked away or inaccessible: in this incident, the child could take it out.

The absence of injury is an important fact, not a measure of how safe the situation was. A loaded handgun was accessible in a classroom of young children. Staff intervention brought that immediate danger to an end; it does not explain the failure that allowed the gun into the backpack.

The center has since added backpack checks and disenrolled the toddler and a sibling, according to NBC. An earlier daycare letter described the family as disenrolled; the later account specifies the two children affected. Both have lost their places at the center. The reporting does not establish the previous backpack-check policy, whether the new checks have uncovered other hazards, or any finding of negligence against the center or the teacher who intervened. ^{2 4}

Ely told the court he had nine firearms at home and was a Detroit police officer, NBC reported. Police1 reports that he was ordered to surrender all his guns. Nine is his own stated count, not a verified police inventory, and the surrender order does not establish that every gun has already been turned over. ^{3 9}

Detroit police placed Ely on administrative duty. That employment action is not dismissal or a final disciplinary finding. NBC’s September 29 account reported that the handgun brought to daycare was not a service weapon, but that distinction does not identify its owner or explain how it reached the child. ^{1 3}

The earlier custody account also requires care. On September 29, NBC reported that prosecutors were weighing charges against a parent, including the police-officer parent. Canton police said a parent was in custody but expressly clarified that it was not the officer. They said the officer-parent was being investigated by another agency, which was not identified. Both parents’ later arraignments supersede the pending charging decision; they do not retroactively make Ely the parent initially detained. Current bond amounts, custody or release status, and complete release conditions remain unverified. ^{1 4}

Michigan’s secure-storage law took effect on February 13, 2024. Under the available language of MCL 28.429, someone storing or leaving a firearm unattended on premises under their control must take specified precautions when they know, or reasonably should know, that a minor is or is likely to be present. The alternatives include a locked box or container, or keeping the firearm unloaded and securing it with a properly engaged locking device. ^{16 20 21}

The law addresses access before a child carries a gun into a classroom. A holster alone is not the same protection as the locked storage or unloaded-and-locked alternatives described in the statute. But that general requirement does not settle the allegations against either parent: the gun’s previous storage, each parent’s knowledge and the circumstances of its placement in the backpack remain unknown.

The available statutory excerpts do not contain the complete penalty provisions needed to independently establish the precise subsection and full elements underlying Al Zayad’s charge. The case reporting supports the two potential jail maximums, but it cannot substitute for the full statutory text or the charging documents. ^{7 16 18}

The classroom emergency ended without an injury. The question of legal responsibility has not ended with it. The central issue is still how a loaded firearm became accessible to a three-year-old—and what the evidence will establish about the adults responsible for keeping it out of his hands.

NBC News: NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode — Sept. 29 ¹; NBC Nightly News with Tom Llamas Full Episode — Oct. 1 ²; Michigan parents charged after toddler has gun at daycare ³; Top Story with Tom Llamas — Sept. 29, NBC News NOW ⁴.

WXYZ: Detroit officer, wife charged after toddler brings loaded gun to Canton daycare ⁵. Patch: Parents Charged After Their Toddler Passed Around Gun At Canton Daycare: Prosecutor ⁶. Detroit Free Press: Prosecutors charge parents of toddler who passed around gun ⁷. FOX 2 Detroit: Parents arraigned for 3-year-old bringing loaded gun to Canton daycare ⁸.

Police1: Detroit officer charged with child abuse after toddler allegedly brings loaded gun to daycare ⁹. WWJ Newsradio: Parents charged in case of handgun passed around by kids at Canton daycare ¹⁰. New Media Detroit: Two Parents Charged After Loaded Gun Found In Canton Daycare, Passed Among Children ¹¹. NBC News: Police say parents to face charges after a Michigan toddler displayed a gun at daycare ¹².

Michigan News Source: Parents Arraigned After Toddler Brings Loaded Gun to Canton Daycare ¹³. FOX 2 Detroit: Canton police: Both parents to be arraigned after toddler brings loaded gun to daycare ¹⁴.

Michigan Legislature: MCL Section 28.429 ¹⁵; Section 28.429 PDF ¹⁶; 2023 Public Act 17 ¹⁷; MCL Section 750.136b ¹⁸; MCL Section 28.429, alternate supplied page ²¹; SB0079 analysis as enacted, completed April 15, 2024 ²².

Michigan Department of Health and Human Services: Firearm Storage Penalties ¹⁹; New gun safety laws to protect families go into effect February 13 ²⁰; What is the secure storage law in Michigan? ²³.

ABC News: Parents charged after 3-year-old found with loaded handgun at daycare: Officials ²⁴. Lodi News-Sentinel: Cop, woman charged after toddler brings loaded gun to Michigan daycare ²⁵. ClickOnDetroit: Parents charged after toddler brings loaded firearm to Canton daycare ²⁶. FOX 2 Detroit: Parents charged after toddler brings gun to daycare, video ²⁷. CBS Detroit: Detroit officer charged after toddler found with loaded gun at daycare, video ²⁸.