A 5-year-old student found an unloaded handgun on the Leopold Elementary School grounds Tuesday, Madison police said.
The student found the gun in the grass at the school at 2602 Post Road about 5:45 p.m., according to Madison police spokesman Joel DeSpain.
A school employee who was in the area for a meeting immediately took control of the gun. An investigation into who tossed or left it on school property is underway, DeSpain said.
In an email to families, Principal Peg Keeler called the discovery “deeply unsettling.”
She said the firearm was found near a door leading to the staff parking lot and police were immediately involved. No other weapons were found when police and district security searched the school grounds, Keeler said.
“Madison police will also be increasing patrols around our school and adjacent park,” Keeler said. “We are continuing to review video surveillance as the police investigation continues.”
She also suggested parents read the district’s guidelines on teaching young children to recognize that something is unsafe, refuse to touch it and report it to an adult.
“Please know that your children’s safety is everything to us,” Keeler said.
In March 2018, a parent and child walking to Leopold found a loaded handgun near school grounds. The gun in that case had been reported stolen, was confiscated and no one was injured.
<&rdpStrong>Madison Mallards pro shop arson, fatal hit-and-run arrest top recent notable crimes in Madison area</&rdpStrong>
Fire that destroyed pro shop at Madison Mallards Duck Pond was arson, authorities say
A fire Thursday night that destroyed the pro shop at the Madison Mallards Duck Pond ballpark on the North Side is "being actively investigated as an arson," the Madison Fire Department said Friday afternoon.
The Fire Department is being assisted in the investigation by the Madison Police Department, the state Department of Criminal Investigation, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
No injuries were reported. The fire did an estimated $150,000 in damage, Fire Department spokeswoman Cynthia Schuster said in a statement.
Man charged in hit-and-run crash that killed Northport pedestrian
A tip from a relative and another about the location of a damaged vehicle led Madison police to the man they say caused the hit-and-run death of a pedestrian last month on Madison’s North Side, according to court documents.
Police were ultimately able to match debris found at the scene of the Sept. 12 crash in the 1700 block of Northport Drive with a Jeep Grand Cherokee owned by Branden R.A. Iler, 22, of Madison, who was charged Wednesday with hit-and-run resulting in death.
The pedestrian who died was identified last month as Darrell Sunderlage, 60, of Brooklyn.
Janesville gas station operator defrauded Libyan Embassy to pay tax, electricity bills, feds allege
A Madison man whose family owns two gas stations in Janesville was indicted Thursday on allegations that he fraudulently used bank account information belonging to the Libyan Embassy to pay state sales and use taxes and the electricity bill owed by the businesses.
Federal court documents state that Ahmad Kanan, 48, whose wife owns a BP gas station and a Clark gas station in Janesville with others in Massachusetts, used the routing and account numbers of the bank account belonging to the Embassy of Libya Military Attaché to make the tax and utility payments in 2017.
Truck airborne for 60 feet before crashing into roof in town of Beloit, police say
A man was arrested in the town of Beloit after crashing his pickup truck into the roof of a home on Saturday evening, police said.
The town of Beloit police responded at 4:26 p.m. after the driver, 37-year-old Pieter E. Bruner, struck the home on the 2900 block of S. Park Avenue. Police said Bruner was under the influence.
Madison man arrested for exchange of gunfire after dispute at State Street apartment, police say
A Madison man was arrested for an exchange of gunfire after a dispute at a State Street apartment Thursday night that caused property damage but no injuries, Madison police said.
Brandon M. Buckner, 28, was arrested on a tentative charge of second-degree reckless endangering safety.
Man shot in face after he says estranged wife drives up to him, suspect in custody, Janesville police say
A man was shot in the face in Janesville Wednesday night and a suspect was arrested later in Sauk County, police said.
At about 9:30 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 1500 block of Center Avenue and found the 48-year-old man who had been shot in the face, Janesville police said.
The man told police he was stopped at an ATM when he noticed a silver van that was being driven by his estranged wife approach him on the passenger side of his vehicle. The man said he then heard a shot and realized he had been hit, police said.
Man hospitalized after teen brother shoots him in arm in Sun Prairie, police say
A 23-year-old man was hospitalized Tuesday night after his 16-year-old brother shot him in the arm with a handgun in Sun Prairie, police said.
Police were called to an apartment in the 300 building of the Element on Main apartment complex, 311 Park Circle, at about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday for a reported shooting, Lt. Kevin Konopacki said.
Second suspect in North Side homicide arrested in Mississippi, Madison police say
The second of two suspects in a homicide last month on the North Side has been arrested in Mississippi, Madison police said.
U.S. Marshals arrested Larence G. Thomas, 37, Sgt. Ryan Gibson said.
Thomas and Leearthur L. Taylor, 33, are charged with first-degree intentional homicide in the death of Malik Moss, 19, of Sun Prairie, who was shot several times Sept. 28 at the Ridgecrest Apartments on Northport Drive.
Resident arrested for alleged arson at North Side home, authorities say
A resident has been arrested for alleged arson at a North Side home on Sunday night, authorities said.
Rose M. Galloway, 34, was arrested for arson and first-degree reckless endangerment, Madison police said Monday morning.
5 Madison teens crash stolen SUV, flee on foot, police say
Madison police took five Madison teenagers into custody late Friday afternoon after authorities say they crashed a stolen SUV and fled on foot.
According to police, a homeowner on the city’s Southwest side reported hearing a crash near his Piedmont Road home and found five male teenagers in an SUV who had just collided with a curb, flattening one of the vehicle’s tires and rendering it inoperable.
Jeff Richgels
Online Reporter/Producer for Wisconsin State Journal
