KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (WVEC) — Kill Devil Hills police said children found a backpack with guns in it off Camellia Drive.
Captain John Towler of the Kill Devil Hills police department said the children were playing in the wooded area near their house on November 22 when they came along a backpack with three guns, food, and clothes inside it.
Towler said that he knows two of the guns were stolen because they were reported as stolen from unlocked cars in the area in July.
"Two of them turned out to be stolen, we're fairly certain that other one is stolen too,” said Towler.
Police said inside the backpack was a 9 mm, Springfield XD Mod 2, which they said was stolen on July 11th.
Another gun found was a .40 caliber Glock 27 handgun, that was reported stolen on July 21st. Police said the third gun in the backpack was a Ruger handgun, and that all three guns were loaded.
Police said the children who found the guns ages range from 10 to 12. Towler said it’s a reminder to always lock car doors and never to leave guns in a car.
"It's one of our top five worst nightmare scenarios. Like what could go bad here in this community that could be in the tops. It's a conflict with this idea that we're just this safe little community down here, kind of a Mayberry. It is 2018 and people do bad things,” said Towler.
Neighbor Cooper Greer works in the neighborhood frequently, and he's stunned.
"For a little kid to be handling them unsupervised yeah. For a little kid to be handling them unsupervised yeah,” said Greer.
As for Towler, he said he’s just thankful that the kids didn’t play with the guns, and instead told their parents, who then called the police.
“They see guns, they don't know if they're toy guns or whatever. Imagine they start playing stormtroopers and Jedi’s and start shooting each other. My God what tragedy could have come from that?" said Towler.
The investigation into the robbery continues as police are using fingerprinting and DNA analysis.