A Virginia daycare is under intense scrutiny after a 2-year-old reportedly placed a loaded handgun in their mouth while staff members were distracted by their cell phones.
The near-tragedy unfolded on Sept. 25 at the Thrive Learning Center East in Richmond after an administrator brought a firearm to the facility in an unzipped fanny pack, according to Western Journal. A report from the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) stated that upon arriving at the center, the administrator took off the fanny bag and placed it on a low stack of cots, approximately 31 inches from the floor.
At some point afterward, the toddler obtained the firearm from the fanny bag and placed the firearm barrel side first into their mouth, the report said. During these critical moments, two staff members were looking down on their cell phones, while another had their back turned putting socks on another child, according to the states findings.
The child then walked over to a table with the firearm in their mouth, placed the firearm on a table where five other children were sitting on the floor, and then picked up the firearm from the table. Investigators noted that the entire episode reportedly took place in roughly 15 seconds, underscoring how quickly negligence can put children at mortal risk.
Only at the very end of that brief window did staff finally recognize the danger, at which point one employee retrieved the firearm and returned it to the administrator. According to the VDSS, the administrator had regularly been bringing the firearm to the daycare in an unzipped fanny pack for approximately four months, turning a supposed place of safety into a recurring hazard.
Compounding the recklessness, both the administrator and staff waited four days to report the incident, despite regulations requiring that such events be reported within 24 hours. During a subsequent inspection, the VDSS also found additional violations at Thrive Learning Center East, including leaving children unattended and failing to properly maintain immunization records.
Regulators have since imposed a plan of correction on the facility. All staff will be trained/retrained on understanding mandated reporting requirements and what is included under the definition child abuse and neglect, the report explained.
Staff will be trained to report offenses to 911, the Department of Social Services, and/or Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline. Furthermore, Staff will be given information for reporting as well as be posted at the daycare in each classroom, the report continued, adding that Thrive Learning Center East will adhere to and train all staff regarding Zero Tolerance for firearms or other weapons on daycare property.
In addition to reporting and weapons policies, staff members are slated to receive safety training from the local police department. The administrator who brought the gun, identified by Richmond station WTVR-TV as Martha Evans, now faces criminal charges for her actions.
Documents from the Virginia Department of Education obtained by WTVR-TV indicated that Evans decision to carry a gun into the daycare was not an isolated lapse but a normal routine, suggesting the practice occurred multiple times. When the station contacted Evans husband, described as the daycares managing member, and asked why his wife had brought a loaded firearm into a childcare facility, he replied, No comment.
When pressed on why parents had never been informed about the incident, he abruptly ended the call. According to WTVR-TV, Virginia has temporarily shut down the daycare and intends to permanently suspend the centers license in the near future.
In response, critics and concerned citizens have launched a petition urging the state to act more decisively. State leaders should suspend this license pending a full investigation, enforce real penalties for missed reporting deadlines, and strictly enforce rules keeping any firearm on a childcare property locked away from children, the petition read.
Evans has been charged with possession of a firearm at a school and reckless handling of a gun, charges that highlight the gravity of bringing a loaded weapon into a room full of toddlers and then failing to secure it. For many parents and advocates of traditional family values, the episode underscores a broader concern: while government agencies pile on regulations in countless areas, basic enforcement of existing safety rules and personal responsibility inside institutions entrusted with childrens care remain disturbingly lax.
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