DEER PARK, Wash. -- Authorities said an 8-year-old boy found a loaded gun Thursday near the scene of a deadly shooting that occurred Jan. 3 in Deer Park.
Major Crimes is looking into whether the weapon was involved in the shooting on Pine Crest Manor at East D Street.
'I'm hoping it is because I'd rather have a gun connected to that than just a random gun show up that the children are picking up,' said neighbor Hazel McGillivray. 'It could have easily been a tragedy because the gun was loaded and cocked.'
The boy was waiting for his school bus when he found the gun underneath some leaves and a piece of wood.
'Our neighbor looked at it and said 'it's cocked, I'm going to pick it up, uncock it and secure it,' and I said okay and held the bag and put the gun in the bag and called crime check,' said McGillivray.
McGillivray moved from the Seattle area 3 years ago with her husband and two young children to get away from the crime in the Puget Sound area.
'This is a wonderful neighborhood and all the neighbors pretty band together and watch out for each other,' said McGillivray.
But lately her quiet Deer Park neighborhood has seen its fair share of crime.
McgillIvray said the man arrested in the murder Jan. 3, 61-year-old Richard Klepacki, had been a neighborhood nightmare and often made threats to hers and other families. She said he was arrested once after going up and down the street shouting at people yelling at neighbors to come out and fight with him.
McGillivray says since Klepacki has been in custody the neighborhood has much more quiet. She said, however, she wishes authorities would keep the neighborhood more informed about the murder investigation since there was still a suspect being sought by police in the case.
