9-year-old boy finds loaded gun while playing in backyard in Queens
FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WABC) -- A frightening discovery was made in Queens when a 9-year-old playing in his backyard found a loaded gun.
What began with an innocent game of tag Saturday afternoon ended with a 9-year-old Isaiah finding a gun in his yard.
"I was shocked because I never saw a real gun," Isaiah said.
He said something black and silver caught his eye. When he lifted a patch of grass, he discovered the weapon.
In that split second, the third grader made the wisest decision ever. Instead of playing with it or pulling the trigger to see if it was real, Isaiah brought it to his mother.
"I said, mom is this real? She took it from me," he said.
"And for that, he's my hero. Our hero," Isaiah's mother Debbie said.
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Police confirmed the gun was real. It was loaded and it was ready to be fired. But who put it here?
A week before the horrible discovery, the mother, noticed a stranger trespassing and acting aggressively in her yard.
"I assumed he had a firearm by the way he was fixing his waist," she said. "At that moment, I called 911"
She confronted him and took a photo. By the time police arrived, he had left.
"I don't know if he's going to come back looking for it," she said. "I don't know if he's going to retaliate because I want justice. But what I do know is I don't want this to happen to any kid, ever again."
In an exclusive interview, the family asked Eyewitness News to protect their identity because an arrest has not yet been made.
While they are grateful this did not end in a terrible accident, the what if scenarios are haunting.
Young Isaiah had picked up the gun with his finger on the trigger.
"As he handed it to me, I could see a hole in the barrel of the gun," his mother said. "Pointing to me as he handed it to me."
"My sisters was crying. My mom was crying," Isaiah said. "I hope they can find the guy who did it."
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