Loaded handgun found in diaper bag at East Lyme daycare

East Lyme police responded to a daycare last week after a loaded gun was found in a diaper bag that had been dropped off with a child, according to the police report filed in connection with the incident.

Officers investigated and spoke to the parents involved who attributed the incident to a mix-up of what bag should have been brought to the Ballestrini's Child Care Center at 161 W. Main St. last Friday, according to the report filed by the East Lyme Police Department. Police in the report said they determined the incident was "not criminal in nature" and did not make any arrests.

The Department of Children and Families was notified by police of what happened, the report said.

The incident unfolded at about 8 a.m. shortly after a child was dropped off at the daycare, where a staff member heard a "metallic thump" when putting down a diaper bag that had been brought along with the infant, the report said.

The father, who dropped the child off, and the infant's mother responded to the daycare and were "apologetic" over what happened, police wrote in the report.

The gun — a Smith & Wesson handgun — was legally owned and registered. Both parents had valid pistol permits, according to the report.

The father of the child said he grabbed what he thought was an empty diaper bag and put the child's lunchbox inside before dropping both the bag and the infant off at Ballestrini's, the report said.

The mother told police she had been using the bag to run errands and had recently been placing her firearm in the bag instead of using a waistband holster, the report said.

The gun was returned after East Lyme police opted not to pursue charges, according to the report.

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