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Police Find 3 Children Home Alone With Loaded Weapon

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TBO.com

Published: September 23, 2008

TAMPA - Police responding to a report of gunshots fired at an apartment complex Monday night found three young children alone with a loaded assault rifle.

Somebody reported hearing gunshots at 3809 W. Iowa Ave. at 11:35 p.m. When the officers arrived, tipsters directed them to an apartment in the complex, police spokeswoman Janelle McGregor said.

Inside the apartment, the officers found a 5-year-old girl and two boys, ages 8 and 2. A semiautomatic handgun with a bullet halfway in the chamber was in plain view on the master bedroom floor, the police report states.

The children's father, Jason D. Lopez, 27, told officers an acquaintance had fired the TEC-DC9 handgun in the parking lot and brought the gun into the apartment. At some point, Lopez and the acquaintance left the children and the weapon alone in the apartment, the report states.

Lopez was arrested and charged with child neglect. The children were placed in state custody until their mother was able to get them, McGregor said.

Editor's note: Lanko Westenhaver's relationship to Jason Lopez was misidentified in an earlier version of this story.

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