Loaded handgun found in Wescoe Hall restroom; KU police say weapon was stolen

Signs stating that the open carry of firearms is prohibited inside buildings are posted on doors throughout the University of Kansas campus. This sign, on Wescoe Hall, is pictured July 7, 2017.

Police are looking for the owner of a stolen handgun that was left unattended in a Wescoe Hall restroom on the University of Kansas campus.

KU Public Safety officers retrieved the loaded .38 revolver shortly after 11 a.m. Tuesday, Deputy Chief James Anguiano told the Journal-World. A student had discovered the handgun on the floor inside a toilet stall in Wescoe’s fourth-floor men’s restroom that morning, Anguiano said, and KU Public Safety officers were immediately notified.

The restroom has since been cleared for use, and no one was hurt in the incident.

“There was no imminent threat in the building. The individual that called did the right thing,” Anguiano said. “They stayed in the area until officers arrived, gave them information, and that’s what we will continue to stress and want people to do.”

After securing the handgun and taking it back to the KU Public Safety station, officers checked the serial number and discovered that the weapon had been reported stolen out of Olathe. Officers with the city’s police department are taking over the case, Anguiano said.

Leaving a gun unattended isn’t normally treated as a criminal case, he said, though the weapon’s stolen status does complicate matters.

Anguiano said Tuesday’s call was the first his office had received about an unattended gun since the onset of on-campus concealed carry July 1.

Anyone who finds an unattended gun on university grounds is advised to contact the KU Public Safety Office at 864-5900.