A South Carolina mother accidentally packed a loaded gun in her daughter’s lunchbox, day care officials say.
The child found the gun in a mesh pouch on her lunchbox during snack time at the Lake Bowen Baptist Church Child Development Center in Inman, according to WYFF.
‘This is my mommy’s. I’m not supposed to touch this,’ the girl, whose age hasn’t been released, allegedly said when she notified a teacher.
Pastor Brad Atkins said the gun was removed in a ‘safe and orderly manner,’ unloaded and put in storage.
The girl’s parents were then contacted to discuss the incident and collect the child and firearm.
The mother has a concealed weapons permit and was on alert because her husband had been the victim of a carjack the night before, Atkins told the local news station.
A girl brought a loaded gun into Lake Bowen Baptist Church Child Development Center (pictured) in Inman on Wednesday, officials say
The pastor also said her husband was out of town this week, so the mother was more concerned about her safety.
‘In the hurriedness of getting everything together, (the mother) grabbed everything, put the handgun in the outer pouch with the intent of getting it out when she got everything to the car, went back in, got the girls loaded up, and just completely forgot about it, because it wasn’t part of her daily routine because she didn’t typically carry her concealed weapon,’ Atkins told WYFF.
Atkins said staff and other parents at the daycare are happy the gun was found safely and the situation was handled appropriately.
He did not give the girl’s mother’s name.
In a letter sent after the incident and obtained by WYFF, the day care assured parents they had handled the dangerous situation correctly.
‘This has never happened at our CDC before and we pray an incident like this will never happen again. We strive to provide the premier CDC in our area, not only in the areas of education and care, but also in protection,’ read the letter.
The Department of Social Services visited the school on Friday and are investigating the incident, a spokesperson confirmed to WYFF News 4.