Child finds loaded handgun in front yard | News

MODESTO, CA - A scary situation was averted Monday afternoon when a vigilant parent caught their child with a gun in hand.

The .357 Magnum handgun was loaded, said Modesto police Lt. Jolene Gonzales.

The 6 year old was playing in the front yard of a home on the 2500 block of Miller Avenue around 3:30 p.m. The parent was also out front and happened to look up see the child holding the firearm.

The parent took it away without incident, Gonzales said.

"When something involves a child, it's just the blink of an eye, you know where they looked away for one moment," said Gonzales. "We're very fortunate there were people around, including the parents, to see their children, and watch them and notice the gun."

Police think someone discarded the gun in a flower bed but were not really sure how it came be in the yard.

According to Gonzales, officers talked to neighbors and learned the gun may be connected to someone who ran from a stolen car last week but that was not certain.

People who live in the area say they have expected something like this would happen in this neighborhood.

"It really doesn't surprise me, because of all the gang violence that's been going on lately," said Sherika Thomas, a concerned neighbor. "I think it's pretty ridiculous though, people are really getting too full of themselves."