Boy, 14, claims he found handgun
A 14-year-old Washington boy was arrested early Sunday after police found him with a loaded handgun as he walked in the city’s West End.
City police were called about 2:20 a.m. after getting numerous reports of shots being fired. The calls came from several areas of the West End, including the 800 and 900 blocks of Addison Street, Grove Avenue, Ewing Street and Buena Vista Street.
When police arrived, they first spotted a vehicle with two occupants parked in the area. When officers went around the block and returned, the car was gone. Police then spotted the boy near Baird Avenue and Ewing. The boy had a handgun in his pocket.
The 14-year-old told police he found the gun on Ewing and put it in his pocket. He told police he was at his West End home when he decided to go out for a walk, which is when he found the weapon. Police determined the .380-caliber handgun was loaded.
The boy later told police he was at the home of a friend near the Brownson House on Jefferson Avenue.
He said he was sleeping when two of his friends woke him and told him to get into a car because they were leaving. When the three arrived in the West End, the other two told him to get out of the car. He told police that is when he found the gun.
Police checked the gun’s serial number, but it came back as no record found for an owner. It was placed in evidence.
The boy’s mother was contacted. He was charged with possession of a firearm by a minor and placed in the Jefferson County (Ohio) Juvenile Detention Center.