Police: Loaded Gun Found Near Chaska Day Care Center
CHASKA, Minn. (WCCO) -- Chaska police said an act of carelessness caused a loaded handgun to be left just feet away from a day care center earlier in April.
The serial number on the handgun was traced back to a Shakopee man, who told police that he thought the gun was stolen out of his truck in December. However, the man never reported it stolen, and police didn't buy his story.
"I guess the circumstances suggest that it most likely fell out of his vehicle," said Capt. Jon Kehrberg of the Chaska Police Department. "It was uncased, loaded, underneath his seat, so I'd say the circumstances suggest it fell out and was pushed up into a snow bank."
The gun was found on April 5 by David Granlund, who was walking his dog near a Dairy Queen and a child care facility when he noticed something shiny in the grass.
"It looked like a child's handgun," Granlund said.
Indeed, it was a gun, but not a child's.
"Like a fool, I bent over and looked at it and I happened to pick it up. And when I turned it over and saw that it had hollow-point bullets in the chamber, I put it right back down and called police," Granlund said.
Granlund said he feels lucky it didn't fall into the wrong hands.
Police said the gun owner did not tell them why he had a loaded gun in his truck. However, Kehrberg said the gun owner did not break any laws in this situation.
Kehrberg added that if people come across a weapon like this in the public, they should not touch the gun and call police immediately.
