HANOVER TWP. — A mother accused by Hanover Township police of aiming and pulling the trigger of a firearm against her daughter’s head surrendered Thursday.
Caitlin Marie Cook, 34, was accompanied by her attorney, Frank T. McCabe II, when she was arraigned by District Judge Kyle Halesey in Hanover Township on two counts of aggravated assault, and one count each of child endangerment, reckless endangerment and terroristic threats. Cook was released on $50,000 unsecured bail.
An arrest warrant was issued for Cook on April 27, after the girl was questioned by a forensic interviewer at the Luzerne County Children’s Advocacy Center in Wilkes-Barre.
According to the criminal complaint:
The girl told police and the forensic interviewer she was with her mother traveling in a vehicle on Sans Souci Parkway when they engaged in an argument about her school attendance.
During the argument, the girl claimed her mother removed a firearm from her purse and aimed it at her head, saying, “Why don’t I just kill both of us? I’m just going to shoot my brains out,” the complaint says.
Police in the complaint say the girl claimed her mother then aimed the firearm at her and believed the trigger was pulled as she heard a “click.”
Cook’s address on the criminal complaint is listed as Clarks Cross Road, Askam, Hanover Township.
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