CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Some kids found a loaded gun at a bus stop in north Charlotte this week, police said.
The unsettling discovery is just the latest case of a weapon that ended up on Charlotte streets.
It happened around 9 a.m. Monday on Kennesaw Drive. According to the police report, the kids found a loaded semi-automatic handgun at the bus stop.
Last year, NBC Charlotte revealed several cases of guns or ammo being found everywhere from a gas station to a school bus.
NBC Charlotte previously obtained 911 calls from people who discovered guns on their property.
"I found a gun in my backyard; it’s loaded," said one 911 caller who found a handgun.
"It’s in my front yard naked, not in a case or anything like that," said another caller who found a shotgun.
It’s not clear if the kids who found the loaded gun picked the weapon up or left it where they found it. However, police say it’s important parents have conversations with their children.
"Having these talks with your children about if they do find some type of weapon or gun anytime that they don’t touch it," Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Officer Johnathan Frisk previously told NBC Charlotte.
Last year, an NBC Charlotte Defenders investigation found half a dozen police reports of guns or ammo being found around Charlotte in a three week period, including a loaded gun at a local gas station on the Plaza.
"I found a gun in the restroom and I want to hand it over to police officers," said the 911 caller.
In another case, a school bus driver found live ammo on the bus.
"I just dropped off my last group in the Pineville area, and I found live ammunition on my bus," the 911 caller said.
Officer Frisk said call police if you find a gun and don’t touch the weapon.
"Somebody could have just used that gun or weapon in a crime," Officer Frisk previously said.
However, NBC Charlotte found even some adults are not following that advice.
"You’ve picked it up and brought it inside?" a dispatcher asked a 911 caller.
"Yes ma’am. I’ve got two kids here so I just really don’t want it here," the caller responded.
"One thing we would definitely ask you is to try to put on some type of latex gloves that way you don’t leave any of your prints on that gun," said Officer Frisk.
NBC Charlotte asked CMPD how the gun found at the bus stop got there and if it has ties to any other ongoing investigations, but police said they could not release that information.
The gun was turned into CMPD property control.