Police called to dad’s overdose coax AK-47 from 10-year-old son, Louisiana cops say
Officers in Louisiana struggled to removed a loaded AK-47 from the hands of a 10-year-old on Saturday while first responders tried to save his father from an overdose, police said.
The boy was reportedly clinging to the gun when emergency personnel responded to reports of a drug overdose at a Dairy Queen parking lot in Crowley, about 30 minutes west of Lafayette, KLFY reported. There were also two handguns on the floor of the backseat where four kids under 12 were sitting.
“All firearms were present and in reach of four small children,” the Crowley Police Department said in a Facebook post just after midnight Sunday. “The AK-47 was located in a child’s lap with the weapon on fire.”
According to police and local media reports, the Crowley Fire Department was providing medical attention to the children’s father when officers arrived.
The man’s wife gave officers permission to enter the car and told them there were drugs in the cup holder, which police later identified as cocaine and fentanyl.
Officers then saw the kids in the backseat, Fox 4 reported. The youngest was one month old.
One of the children, a 10-year-old boy, had a loaded AK-47 on his lap with the safety off, Crowley Police Chief Jimmy Broussard told KLFY.
“The child, of course, didn’t want to give it up, to probably either protect his family or didn’t know exactly what was going on,” he said, according to the TV station. “I mean it’s a very scary situation for a child, and officers spoke with him calmly and tried to gain his trust and everything.”
Broussard said there was a struggle between the boy and officers when he refused to hand it over, Fox 4 reported.
“This weapon was live and thankfully our officers are trained for moments such as these, and they did everything right,” he told the TV station. “If one thing would have gone wrong and that weapon would have discharged, everyone inside that vehicle and near the scene would have been killed.”
Police said they confiscated the AK-47, two 9mm handguns and ammo from the car.
The children’s father was given Narcan and is in stable condition, KLFY reported. He’s since been charged on several counts of possession of a firearm while in possession of a controlled dangerous substance and illegal use of a controlled dangerous substance in the presence of a juvenile, according to Fox 4.
Broussard told the media outlet child protective services would likely take custody of the kids.
