Three New Hampshire teen boys discover a loaded gun tossed into weeds

Three teen boys, ages 13, 14, and 15, were playing ball when they discovered a loaded gun in weeds, in Lawrence, New Hampshire.  All three handled the gun before a parent was alerted.  Luckily no one was injured.

The gun had apparently been tossed there by suspects being chased in a vehicle by police a couple nights earlier.

From an article:

The Walther P22 handgun with a loaded magazine was found at 9 p.m. Sunday by the three boys, ages 13, 14 and 15. The gun’s safety was in the off position, meaning it was ready to fire, according to a police report. 

Police believe the gun may have been tossed in an overgrowth of brush and weeds in front of 4 Conduit St. after shots were fired at police officers on Sunday, June 16.  .... 

Sunday night, the boys playing on Conduit Street told officers the ball ended up in the overgrown grass and weeds. One boy went to fetch the ball and found the loaded gun in the overgrowth. He, his friends and two adults all touched the handgun. “All parties at that time were somewhat unsure if this firearm was real,” Quaglietta wrote. One boy’s parents took the gun up to their apartment and contacted police. 

The gun was slightly rusty in some spots and had a white discoloration in another spot.
“It should be noted that some of the rust spots on the gun could be from the fact that it had rained for the past several days while the gun was laying outside exposed to the elements,” Quaglietta wrote.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult.