Saint Paul, Minnesota: A routine seatbelt stop in Saint Paul became anything but routine when a toddler reached into a diaper bag on the floorboard and pulled out a loaded handgun, pointing it toward an officer standing at the vehicle.
The incident happened on May 11 when Kenneth Ray Terry was stopped for a seatbelt violation.
Terry told the officer he did not have a driver’s license and the officer discovered Terry had active warrants for his arrest.
Three children, all under the age of 3, were in the back seat. An officer on scene observed that one of the children was crying and not properly buckled in. A second child grew concerned about mucus dripping from a sibling’s nose and climbed toward a Mickey Mouse diaper bag on the floorboard to grab a tissue. The child reached into the bag and turned toward the officer holding a Taurus handgun according to reports.
The officer had the child put the gun down on the car seat and recovered it. The firearm did not have a round in its chamber, but contained six rounds of ammunition in its magazine. When officers asked the child where the gun came from, the child pointed to the diaper bag.
Terry said he obtained the handgun for protection because he had been receiving death threats. He told officers he placed the gun near the diaper bag because he had been pulled over. Terry does not have a permit to carry a firearm.
Terry was arrested and released less than 48 hours later.
