Cook County woman charged with bringing loaded gun into courthouse

WHEATON, Ill. - Bond has been set at $100,000 for a Cook County woman charged with bringing a loaded handgun into the DuPage County Courthouse on Thursday.

Suheir Barham, 47, of Oak Lawn, has been charged with felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon in a courthouse and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office.

She was released from custody Friday morning after posting the necessary 10% of her bail, prosecutors said.

Suheir Barham

About 9:01 a.m. Thursday, Barham entered the DuPage County Courthouse in Wheaton and placed her backpack on the conveyor belt metal detector before proceeding to walk through the security checkpoint, prosecutors said.

A sheriff's deputy discovered a Sig Sauer 9mm handgun with a bullet in the chamber as Barham's backpack went through the metal detector. Barham was then taken into custody.

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"If you attempt to bring a loaded gun, or weapon of any kind, into the DuPage County Courthouse, our deputies will arrest you on the spot and you will quickly find yourself facing serious charges," DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick said in a statement.

Barham is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 21 for arraignment.