'Deplorable:' Loaded gun found wrapped in sweater in child's bedroom, police say

A firearm that was seized from a Richmond Hill home last week is shown. Police say that it was found wrapped in "a sweater, in a child’s bedroom closet, next to a crib." (York Regional Police)

A Richmond Hill father is facing multiple charges after a loaded gun was found wrapped in a sweater in one of his children’s bedroom closet’s last week.

York police say that members of their Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit began investigating the suspected drug trafficker last month.

A search warrant was then executed at a Richmond Hill apartment occupied by the man and his three children on May 25.

Police say that officers seized a loaded 9mm Ruger handgun, as well as a quantity of cocaine and cash during the execution of the search warrant.

The handgun was found wrapped in “a sweater, in a child’s bedroom closet, next to a crib,” police say.

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“It is deplorable that a loaded firearm and cocaine were easily accessible to three young children in their own home and shocking the gun was found next to a crib in a three-year-old’s bedroom,” York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween said in a press release. “Thanks to the hard work of members of our Guns, Gangs and Drug Enforcement Unit these life-threatening dangers have been removed from the children’s home.”

Police say that three children, ages three, eight and 12, were in the home at the time of the seizure.

The Children’s Aid Society has been notified.

The suspect is facing seven charges, including possession of a loaded prohibited firearm and trafficking cocaine.

He is not being named in order to protect the identity of the children.