Child finds gun, fires shot in Ikea after customer’s gun falls into couch
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) — Fishers police are investigating after a child found a gun and fired a shot inside Ikea.
It happened around 2 p.m. Monday at the Ikea located at 11400 Ikea Way in Fishers, a north side Indianapolis suburb.
An Ikea customer sat down on a couch, where his firearm fell out of his pants and got lodged in the piece of furniture. He got up from the couch and continued to walk around the store without realizing his gun was gone, according to Sgt. Tom Weger with Fisher Police Department.
Kids sat down on the same couch, found the gun and one of them pulled the trigger, firing a shot but not injuring anyone, Weger said.
Evidence technicians and investigators were at the scene. Weger said witness statements and evidence had been collected and would be forwarded on to the Hamilton County prosecutor.
Weger added that now is the time for parents to talk about what steps to take if a child finds a gun. Two steps are critical: don’t touch it, and go find and tell an adult.
At 4 p.m. Monday, the scene had been cleared, and the store had opened for business again.
An Ikea spokesperson provided a statement on the incident, saying the company has a no-weapon policy and that Ikea employees “took the action they were trained to do to ensure the safety of customers”:
We take this incident very seriously and we have offered the family of the child involved our sincerest apologies.
Safety and security of customers and co-workers is the top priority for IKEA. We have processes in place to ensure that the store is safe for customers and co-workers. For example, our store team has regular safety walks and audits which happen before, during and after opening hours. In addition, IKEA has a no weapon policy in our locations to prevent exactly these types of situations. As soon as we were aware of the situation, our co-workers took the action that they were trained to do to ensure the safety of customers. We are cooperating with police as they investigate this incident.
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