A loaded handgun with a bullet in the chamber was found Monday afternoon in the area of Exmouth and Capel streets, says Sarnia police.
The gun was ready to fire and loaded with .22-caliber ammunition, police said. It was also equipped with an extended magazine.
“We’re very fortunate that it wasn’t located by children,” said police spokesperson Giovanni Sottosanti.
“Who know if maybe they would have thought it was a toy gun and started to goof around with it and pulled the trigger. It could have been very serious consequences.”
Sottosanti said the person who found and reported the gun was walking between two buildings in the area and saw the handgun off the side of a sidewalk.
The gun was seized by police and an investigation began to attempt to determine where it came from, police said.
Anyone with information about the gun, or who has dashboard or surveillance video of the northwest corner of Capel and Exmouth streets between 8 am and 1:45 pm Monday, is asked to contact Det. Patrick Moloney at 519-344-8861, ext. 6239 or Sarnia-Lambton Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
Sottosanti said he couldn’t recall another incident of a loaded handgun being discovered near a sidewalk in the city, but added, “these handguns are in our community.”
“Obviously it’s very concerning and it just means that we have to be much more vigilant when we’re out there,” he said.