Child Finds Loaded Gun, Badge Left By South Bay Sheriff's Deputy In Lake Tahoe Airbnb
LAKE TAHOE (CBS SF) -- A nine-year-old child apparently found a loaded gun and badge left behind by a Santa Clara County Sheriff's deputy at an Airbnb rental in South Lake Tahoe.
The loaded .380 Ruger handgun and the deputy's badge were found in a bedside drawer were found by the boy, according to the child's father.
Jon Segarra said his son Joshua was the one who opened the drawer containing the items within minutes of the family arriving at the Airbnb from Hayward on Friday evening. Three adults and six kids were staying at the Airbnb and the family is happy that no one was hurt.
He said the kids went straight into the Airbnb while the adults and older children were unpacking their truck.
"Joshua's looking for a charger and he sees a nightstand next to the bed in the kids' room, opens up the drawer and there's where he sees the handgun," Segarra explained.
Upon inspection of the gun, Segarra found that it was fully loaded and authentic. "It's pretty freaky. It's not what you want to be doing when you're starting your vacation," he said.
The situation was eerie for the family and the children and Segarra said they spent all night looking for another place to stay, but they couldn't find anything. He said Airbnb offered them $250 to stay somewhere else, but it wasn't quite enough.
Sheriff's spokesperson Sgt. Michael Low provided a statement by sheriff's officials that said, "The Sheriff's Office was made aware of the incident Friday night and sheriff's officials are working with South Lake Tahoe police to find out exactly what happened."
An internal investigation has been launched by the officials who said, "Most importantly, we are thankful no one was hurt as a result of this incident."
Low said the gun found in the property was not the gun issued to the deputy by the sheriff's office. The deputy will be on leave while an investigation is conducted.
Low said the deputy's name is not being released now.
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