A passerby told police that just before 8 p.m. that day they noticed a toddler walking down the street unaccompanied by an adult, according to the criminal complaint filed in Johnson County Court and obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
An Iowa mother is facing multiple charges after her 3-year-old child was found walking down the street with a loaded handgun, police said.
Samantha Hall, 31, is charged with making firearms available to a minor and child endangerment in the wake of the incident, which occurred last Friday night, according to the Iowa City Police.
A passerby told police that just before 8 p.m. that day, they noticed a toddler walking down the street unaccompanied by an adult, according to the criminal complaint filed in Johnson County Court and obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
The passerby then realized the child was also carrying a gun that had a full magazine, according to the complaint.
At that point, the passerby told police that they took the weapon away from the toddler, according to the complaint. Hall then appeared on the scene to collect her child and return to their residence, according to the complaint.
Police arrived at the home soon after, and upon questioning Hall, she admitted to owning the handgun in question, according to the complaint.
The mother told officials that she had been cleaning her home and that the child likely took the gun off her bedside table and wandered off when she wasn’t looking, according to the complaint.
Hall posted $3,000 bond after her first court appearance on Monday and was released from jail. She is currently awaiting trial, court records show. Those records also show a non-contact order is in place but it does not identify the party that Hall is barred from seeing. She and her lawyer are now working to modify this order.
That lawyer, Peter Stiefel, did not respond to a request for comment. Hall has yet to enter a plea in court.
Over the weekend, officials in Johnson County reminded residents who own guns that gun locks are available for free at the Johnson County Sheriff's Office.
