Gun Found in Teddy Bear by 8 Year Old Unwrapping Christmas Presents (VIDEO, PHOTO)
A gun has been found in a wrapped teddy bear gift by an eight year old girl, stunning her and her foster family. The teddy bear gift was in fact given by a New York donation program, and was just one of a number of gifts donated to St. Anthony's Church in New York.
The eight year old and her foster mother were both said to have been very unnerved by the incident.
Foster mom, Sheeba Anderson from Harlem, has explained that she picked up a number of donated gifts from St. Anthony's Church on Dec 20. All of the gifts looked normal and there was nothing to suggest someone had placed a firearm in with one of the gift teddy bear presents.
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However, the family were left stunned when the firearm was found alongside the teddy bear.
There was no ammunition inside the weapon when the girl found it, according to Gizmodo, although someone had previously scratched off the gun's serial number.
According to the foster mom, the little girl thought the gun was a toy and started waving it around. However, to everyone's horror the gun was indeed very real.
According to the New York Post, Anderson has said, "I heard her say, 'Look, Miss Sheeba, I found a gun! She was waving it around and playing with it. This is something you never expect on Christmas. I feel like we narrowly avoided what could have been a terrible disaster."
After taking the gun away from the child, Anderson reported the incident to the authorities, and New York City's Administration for Children's Services has since said it has been left "concerned" by what had happened.
The agency has said to NBC: "We are concerned when any potential risk in a foster home comes to our attention, and are working to ensure that all of the children in the home remain safe."
Authorities are trying to find the person behind the firearm, but their investigations have been complicated as the gifts are donated anonymously, and the firearm's serial number is unable to be read.
However, it is believed that investigators are looking into the make and model of the gun in the hope of finding who may have previously owned the firearm.
Here is a video report on the incident:
