LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A fully loaded gun magazine was found inside the LOL Kids Club in the southwest valley Thursday morning.
The concerned parent who found it reached out to Channel 13 about the incident. We wanted to find out what this business is doing to ensure the safety of children and what law enforcement's response was.
"We go in, there's not a lot of people there. Maybe about three families or so. I put my stuff down and she [daughter] goes running around. And about 10 minutes later, she runs to the net tower and as she is crawling in, you know, she kind of bumps against an object. I'm like, 'What is that,' pick up the object and it's a gun magazine. Obviously, I am shocked that that's there and in plain sight," said the parent who found the magazine.
The father, who wanted to remain anonymous, immediately grabbed the 17-round magazine and handed it to workers at the check-in desk.
He said the workers assured him they would report the incident to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
According to metro, officers responded to a "Found Property" call just before 5 p.m. Thursday.
Officers impounded the magazine and it's now in possession of LVMPD.
Metro said this was considered a "Non-Crime" event as it was just bullets found, not an actual firearm.
"Someone is bringing a weapon on private property where there's children there. They should be investigated and followed up. And if it's a gun owner, it's a very irresponsible way of handling it and they should be investigated.
"I am obviously concerned that a potential firearm made its way into an indoor playground on private property. Who would bring a weapon, I'm assuming there was a weapon to go with the magazine clip? Why would you be bringing the bullets with no gun, why bring it to a place that's only for children?" the parent told us.
A quick search on LOL Kids Club's website, you can find the terms and conditions agreement, which states "alcohol, drugs, and/or weapons are strictly prohibited."
The father we spoke with is concerned that the facility is not taking "the safety of their customers seriously."
"Either that gun magazine was left over night and missed by the evening/before open cleaning crew; or it was dropped by one of the parents that arrived before us between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.; or it was an employee’s," said the father. "I want to make sure that if kids are going to go there that it's a safe environment...I feel bad that it happened to a small, local business but safety first."
"This is just another thing — a reminder — to really be vigilant when you're a parent," said Aaron Aguilar, another parent who takes his daughters to the indoor playground.
Aguilar said he wouldn't mind additional security at the facility following the incident.
"If there can be more safety stuff to keep it [playground] safe, I'm all for it as a parent," Aguilar said.
As for the anonymous parent, he said the incident makes him weary of returning to the indoor playground.
"It wasn't satisfactory when talking about the safety about, you know, my children, other people's children and the community," he said.
Channel 13 emailed and called LOL Kids Club to learn more about what happened.
A person affiliated with the club, who did not want to identify themselves, told us to call metro for details before hanging up.
