GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alta. — RCMP in northwestern Alberta are praising two young kids for doing the right thing when they found a loaded handgun ditched by a shooting suspect.
"The children were astute enough to not touch the weapon and immediately notified a parent," Grande Prairie RCMP said in a release.
Officers were called to the city's west side on Wednesday to investigate reports of shots being fired at a business.
A male suspect fired at some people before taking off in a vehicle with police in pursuit.
Somewhere along the way he tossed the weapon.
Ayrabella Metselaar, who is six, and her five-year-old brother, Junah, found the gun in their backyard.
"At the time you dismiss it, right, because you've got a five year old and a six year old and their imaginations go wild," said the kids' dad, Darren Metselaar.
![](https://media.darpanmagazine.com/library/uploads/news/content/gun5#@</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
"what could be a gun to them could be a garden scoop or any other inanimate object. as a parent i feel proud, but at the same time very, very blessed and lucky and just so happy nothing bad happened."</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
ayrabella and junah were given a tour of the rcmp detachment thursday, as well as awards, for doing the right thing.</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
matthew james bergeson, 32, of grande prairie is to appear in court monday on 15 charges, including dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, resisting arrest and various weapon counts.</div>.jpg)
MORE National ARTICLES
Homicide Police Arrest Teen Girl After Injured Baby Dies In Saskatoon Hospital
Officers were called early Sunday to a home in the College Park neighbourhood, where they found the injured boy.
Homicide Police Arrest Teen Girl After Injured Baby Dies In Saskatoon Hospital
'Sugarplum' Kelowna Mayor Turns Insult Into An Opportunity To Support LGBTQ Community
Colin Basran, now known as Kelowna's "Sugarplum Mayor," is working with the city's Young Professionals Collective to host a Sugarplum Ball on July 9 to show support for the region's LGBTQ community.
'Sugarplum' Kelowna Mayor Turns Insult Into An Opportunity To Support LGBTQ Community
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Joins Thousands Marching In Toronto's Pride Parade
TORONTO — Canada's largest Pride parade marked another milestone Sunday as a sitting prime minister marched for the first time in a colourful celebration that was tempered by last month's shooting massacre in Orlando, Fla.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Joins Thousands Marching In Toronto's Pride Parade
One Year Later: Winnipeg Lawyer Adjusting To Life After Losing Hand In Bombing
WINNIPEG — A Winnipeg lawyer who lost her hand in a letter bombing one year ago says she is adjusting well to her disability and finding new hobbies, like horseback riding.
One Year Later: Winnipeg Lawyer Adjusting To Life After Losing Hand In Bombing
Police In New Brunswick Searching For Stolen Trailer Filled With Frozen Lobster
Caraquet RCMP say video surveillance from a processing plant in Grand Anse shows a dark-coloured Volvo transport truck taking off with the tractor trailer Friday night. The unmarked trailer is 16 metres long and has Nova Scotia licence plates.
Police In New Brunswick Searching For Stolen Trailer Filled With Frozen Lobster
P.E.I. Opposition Demands Inquiry Into Source Of Sex Assault Allegations
CHARLOTTETOWN — The Opposition in P.E.I. is calling for an inquiry into the bizarre case of a non-verbal, autistic woman whose caregivers at a group home claimed she had accused her father of sexual assault.