It was all Aaron McIntyre’s little arms could hold: a stuffed animal, a $50 Visa card, a goodie bag from the Wilmington Police Department, a plaque from the mayor and city council–not a bad haul for an honorable deed.
The 4-year-old had, on the afternoon of July 23, spotted a handgun–loaded, with a bullet in the chamber–under some playground stairs at Portia Hines Park on North 10th Street in Wilmington and made what city officials on Tuesday said was an example-setting choice: he handed the weapon to his grandmother, who called authorities to collect it.
Chief of Police Ralph Evangelous stood with Aaron before an audience at Wilmington City Hall on Tuesday and said with a smile that he would have preferred the young man not handle the gun. But in the end, the chief said, Aaron’s action meant an unattended firearm made it to the right hands.
“We often hear horror stories with our youths and guns, right here in our community,” Evangelous said. “Sometimes they’re even fatal. However, today we celebrate the courageous choice little Aaron and his grandmother made. They did the right thing and called us and took this gun off the street.”
According to a release Tuesday from the police department, guns are in a third of U.S. homes, “and we strongly urge parents and adults to keep guns out of reach from children.”
After pats on the head from Evangelous and Mayor Bill Saffo at Tuesday night’s Wilmington City Council meeting, the quiet Aaron received the city’s Outstanding Junior Citizen Award (with the other fun favors) and returned a wave of applause and camera flashes with a modest little grin.
Ben Brown is a news reporter at Port City Daily. Reach him at [email protected] or (910) 772-6335. On Twitter: @benbrownmedia
