Children out sledding come across loaded gun in Malden - Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - Fellsmere Park in Malden is usually a fun place for kids to go sledding and tubing in the winter. But, that<a class="excerpt-read-more" href="https://whdh.com/news/children-out-sledding-come-across-loaded-gun-in-malden/">Read More</a>
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Children out sledding come across loaded gun in Malden
Steve CooperDecember 22, 2020
MALDEN, MASS. (WHDH) - Fellsmere Park in Malden is usually a fun place for kids to go sledding and tubing in the winter. But, that fun turned to fear when some kids found a loaded gun in the snow over the weekend.
“I’ve been here for over 30 years and this is the first incident of this nature that I have come across,” Police Capt. Marc Gatcomb said while recounting the shocking find. “They located a loaded 380 semi-automatic pistol that was in the snow in the area where kids were sledding.”
No one was hurt and officers seized the semi-automatic weapon.
They soon learned the owner of the gun had taken two runs with his kids down the hill nicknamed “Seven Bumps” before he realized the gun had fallen out of his holster and into the snow.
Officers said they received a call from him shortly after he realized the gun was missing.
“They located an individual who identified himself and said he, in fact, did lose his firearm,” the captain said.
Residents said the whole incident has left them rattled.
“I don’t know why you would need a gun out here,” concerned parent David Webster said. “Maybe a snowball — but that doesn’t sound safe.”
The mother of one of the 13-year-olds who found the gun told 7NEWS that she is grateful no one was hurt.
“Thank God no child was able to get their hands on it,” she said.
Sources say the man has had his license to carry suspended by Medford police, the agency who issued it in the first place.
“The bottom line is you really, really need to use common sense,” Gatcomb said. “Especially when you’re carrying weapons of that nature.”
Police have not yet ruled out the possibility of charging the man in relation to the incident.
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