At work in retail shop, customer left gun in bathroom, what next?

February 12, 2023 1:08 PM

This is happening right now...customer came into the shop, she bought something, was fine. Asked to use the bathroom, then she left. A little later I found a hip pouch with belt in the bathroom - and it contains a gun, and a concealed carry permit.

I have her name, but that's it. I know she's from out of state. She left the shop 2.5 hours ago.

What next? I'm inclined to call the cops and have them take the thing. I do not want to be responsible for it.

posted by Archipelago to Law & Government (15 answers total)

You should! What an idiot.
posted by chesty_a_arthur at 1:13 PM on February 12, 2023 [13 favorites]

Yes. I am on team Never Call The Cops, but this is basically the one exception.
posted by General Malaise at 1:14 PM on February 12, 2023 [34 favorites]

You absolutely should not have an unsecured gun on the premises of your store. Do you have a safe to put it in while waiting for the police to come pick it up?
posted by lizard music at 1:15 PM on February 12, 2023 [8 favorites]

Yes, call. This could easily be a reckless endangerment charge.
posted by donut_princess at 1:15 PM on February 12, 2023

Depending on where you are: when this happe ned at a library in my system (in a public restroom where kids go, ugh), staff called the nonemergency dispatch number and cops came fairly soon. If you don't want to call 911, you can google for this number. Staff in this situation were white and I am white. I do not know what advice to give to a person of color in the US having to interact with cops about a gun, frankly.
posted by lizard music at 1:17 PM on February 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

Response by poster: We do not have a safe.
posted by Archipelago at 1:19 PM on February 12, 2023

Lock the bathroom and put up an out of order sign?
posted by donut_princess at 1:23 PM on February 12, 2023 [6 favorites]

Keep people out of the bathroom, call the police, they'll be there in five minutes and take care of it.
posted by jonathanhughes at 1:24 PM on February 12, 2023 [4 favorites]

It's not going to jump up and bite you. Just don't mess around with it or try to unload it, don't touch the trigger, don't take it out of its holster if it's in one. Place it in a drawer or whatever, and call the non-emergency police number for them to pick it up.
posted by kickingtheground at 1:25 PM on February 12, 2023 [18 favorites]

I don't know what your level of familiarity is with guns, but as someone who has no familiarity at all, personally I definitely would not even try to move it to a more secure location. I would leave it exactly where it is and do whatever is needed to "keep guard" of it.
posted by dusty potato at 1:25 PM on February 12, 2023 [8 favorites]

Response by poster: Called the cops, they are on their way.

Thanks everyone.
posted by Archipelago at 1:27 PM on February 12, 2023 [52 favorites]

I am curious how long it took police to arrive. In my city, this would probably take a while.
posted by NotLost at 10:09 PM on February 12, 2023

I hope this got resolved quickly. I lost my shit once when I forgot my phone in the bathroom of a gas station. I cannot imagine what is going through the mind of the gun owner right now, assuming she has even noticed.
posted by Bella Donna at 1:59 PM on February 13, 2023 [1 favorite]

I'll bet she hasn't noticed, or she would have retraced her steps.
posted by Furnace of Doubt at 8:45 AM on February 14, 2023

Response by poster: Took about 30 minutes for cop to arrive. It's not a high crime area, and a random gun is probably at least a medium priority.

About ten minutes later, the owner called, asking if we'd found a blue fanny pack. I told her the cops had it, and then she got pissed at me because I hadn't gotten a phone number from the cop for her to call...which pissed me off. Like I was somehow responsible to her.
posted by Archipelago at 10:17 PM on February 16, 2023 [7 favorites]