CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An NBC Charlotte Defenders investigation is uncovering information about dangerous discoveries made around the Queen City.
NBC Charlotte has learned guns or ammunition are unexpectedly popping up in people’s yards, at a store, even on a school bus, according to police reports.
One of the main concern is the safety of children. However, police also said those items could be used as evidence in a criminal investigation in some cases.
Some of the weapons were discovered while people were going about their daily routes, like checking the mail. Police said people should not touch the weapons if they see it, but NBC Charlotte found not everyone is doing that.
One 911 caller told dispatchers she found a shotgun while checking the mail near I-485 and Mount Holly Road.
“It’s in my front yard naked, not in a case or anything like that,” the caller said.
Another man described discovering a handgun with live rounds in his backyard near Kilborne District Park.
“Somebody must have come through and threw it in there or something,” he told the 911 dispatcher.
In fact, the NBC Charlotte Defenders team found half a dozen police reports about guns or ammunition being found in just a three week period of time, between March and April.
“That many in that short amount of time, it’s scary,” said Crime Prevention Officer Johnathan Frisk with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department.
The weapons are also being found in public places. One man reported finding a loaded gun at a gas station on the Plaza near East W. T. Harris Boulevard.
“I found a gun in the restroom and I want to hand it over to police officers,” he told dispatchers.
A worker made an unexpected discovery while digging a trench at an outdoor area near I-85 and North Tryon Street.
NBC Charlotte even found a case of live ammunition discovered on a school bus. The bus driver reported what he found to dispatchers.
“I just dropped off my last group in the Pineville area and I find live ammunition on my bus,” he said.
Officer Frisk said to call police but don’t touch the items.
“Having these talks with your children about if they do find some type of weapon or gun that they don’t touch it,” said Officer Frisk.
However, NBC Charlotte found some adults not following that advice. The man at the gas station told dispatchers he took the loaded gun into his car, before calling 911.
“When the officers come up to you, just don’t touch it,” a dispatcher told the man.
The woman who found a shotgun in her yard also picked up the weapon and she told the dispatcher she brought it inside.
“I’ve got two kids here, so I just really don’t want it here,” the woman said.
Officer Frisk said if someone absolutely needs to move the weapon for safety reasons, they should take an important step first.
“I think one thing we would definitely ask you is to try to put on some type of latex gloves,” Officer Frisk said. “Somebody could have just used that gun or weapon in a crime.”
Officer Frisk said DNA or other evidence on the weapon could be very valuable if there’s a criminal investigation.