A 2-year-old at a daycare in Virginia found a loaded gun in an unzipped fanny pack and put it in their mouth while staff members looked down at their phones, authorities said.
The incident happened at Thrive Learning Center East on Cofer Road in Richmond. Martha Evans, who operates the daycare, faces charges of possessing a firearm on school property and reckless handling of a firearm, according to court records and local CBS affiliate WTVR.
A report from the Virginia Department of Social Services said Evans and two other staff members were caring for eight children on Sept. 25. Evans allegedly left the loaded gun “accessible to children” on a stack of cots about 2 1/2 feet off the ground.
The toddler pulled the gun out of the fanny pack, put it in their mouth, and then set it down on a table near five other children, the report said. At the time, Evans and one staff member were looking down at their phones, and another staff member had her back turned while putting socks on a different child, investigators wrote.
About 15 seconds went by before anyone noticed the child had the gun, according to the report. The staff member who was putting socks on another child saw it, “immediately jumped up from a seated position,” grabbed the weapon, and handed it to Evans, per the report.
“[Evans] has regularly brought a firearm into the center inside of a fanny bag for nearly four months and routinely left the fanny bag accessible to children,” investigators wrote.
The daycare allegedly waited four days before reporting the incident to the Department of Social Services.
“All staff will be trained/retrained on understanding mandated reporting requirements and what is included under the definition child abuse and neglect. Staff will be trained to report offenses to 911, the Department of Social Services, and/or Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. Staff will be given information for reporting as well as be posted at the daycare in each classroom,” the state wrote in its Plan of Correction. “Thrive Learning Center East will adhere to and train all staff regarding “Zero Tolerance” for firearms or other weapons on daycare property.”
Investigators also found other violations, including a 14-month-old left unsupervised during a nap and other children without documentation of the required immunizations, the state said.
WTVR reported that the daycare closed on Friday.
Evans has since bonded out of jail. Her next court date is set for Dec. 15.
Leave a Reply