Crime & Safety
Loaded Gun Found in Bathroom Stall at Mayfair Mall
Weapon may well have just been forgotten by a citizen, carrying for self-defense, who had to unholster while going about his business.
A loaded, holstered revolver found in a bathroom stall at Mayfair Mall showed no immediate evidence of being a crime or contraband weapon, and may well have been inadvertently left behind by a forgetful mall visitor.
According to police reports:
At 12:40 p.m. Thursday, police were called to Mayfair after a loaded revolver was found in a menβs restroom on the first floor just off center court.
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A custodian reported to his supervisor at 12:32 that he had just found the holstered weapon wedged between the wall and a handrail above and behind the toilet. He said he had last checked the bathroom 90 minutes before, at 11:02 a.m., and he was sure the gun had not been there.
The restroom was quickly blocked off, and police entered and examined the weapon. It was a .38-caliber, five-shot Harrington & Richards revolver, loaded with five soft-point rounds of Smith & Wesson ammo. An officer described it as being in fair condition with dirty cylinders and some rust.
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The officer also noted that the gun was not hidden by any means; in fact, it was in plain sight.
Mall security, reviewing video, said that at least 40 men had used the restroom during the 90 minutes since the custodian had last checked the room. Most of them were elderly, as there was a senior citizens event in progress at the mall.
An initial trace of the serial number of the weapon did not show it as reported stolen. A further trace through the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms database was initiated to see if a legal owner or history of the weapon could be found.
Legally owned or not, the revolver should not have been where it was. Mayfair Mall has a no-weapons policy posted on every entrance.
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