Man charged after 6-year-old fires gun he dropped in Ikea

“He walked away leaving the gun behind.”

June 29, 2018, 5:19 PM

Prosecutors lodged criminal charges against an Indiana man after he allegedly dropped his gun in Ikea and a 6-year-old boy picked it up and fired it.

Francis T. Wright, 62, of Camby, Indiana was charged Thursday with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon after the child found the gun in the cushions of a couch on display and fired one round, according to a statement from Sgt. Tom Weger of the Fishers Police Department.

“After conducting a full review, Hamilton County Prosecutor Lee Buckingham filed criminal charges against the owner of the gun,” the statement said.

PHOTO: Cars are parked outside an IKEA store in Fishers, Ind., where a boy fired a loaded gun that he found in a couch on June 25, 2018.
Cars are parked outside an IKEA store in Fishers, Ind., where a boy fired a loaded gun that he found in a couch on June 25, 2018.
WRTV

Police said that according to witness statements and evidence at the scene the owner of the gun was sitting on a couch inside the store on June 25, and when he stood up, the gun fell into the couch.

“He walked away leaving the gun behind,” Weger said in the statment.

PHOTO: An IKEA sign is posted on the side of an IKEA store in Fishers, Ind., where a boy fired a loaded gun that he found in a couch on June 25, 2018.
An IKEA sign is posted on the side of an IKEA store in Fishers, Ind., where a boy fired a loaded gun that he found in a couch on June 25, 2018.
WRTV

A short time later two boys, both 6, sat down on the couch, and one of the boys handled the gun causing it to accidentally discharge one time.

No one was injured during incident, Weger said in the statement, adding: “When a person does not take their responsibility seriously there can be consequences."