A soccer dad found a loaded Glock 23 .40-caliber gun in a portable bathroom at the Merrill Soccer Field in Hamburg Township just before 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, as a soccer match was underway. The portable bathroom in which the loaded gun was found is located nearest to the children’s play structure.
According to the Hamburg Township Police report, an officer responded quickly and took possession of the gun, which was returned to its owner later that evening.
When contacted by authorities about the gun, the owner, a 64-year-old Farmington man, was at his grandson’s birthday party in South Lyon. According to the police report, he said that when he realized he “left it on the shelf in the porta potty” he was “sick” to his stomach about it. He picked the gun up from the Hamburg Township Police Department later that evening.
The case has been forwarded to the Livingston County Prosecutor’s Office for investigation.
Earlier this month, an Isabella County sheriff was not charged after leaving a loaded service weapon in a Michigan school gym locker room.
In 2015, a man walked into the bathroom of a Traverse City pizza parlor and left without his loaded weapon. The gun owner faced a misdemeanor charge of reckless use of a firearm.
“The Hamburg Community Soccer Club is committed to the safety of all of our children and their families,” wrote Jim Clark, president of the club in an email to members informing them of the incident. “… the Hamburg Community Soccer Club is committed to making soccer a pleasant, SAFE and rewarding experience for everyone involved and we are taking this incident very seriously.”
