Fishers Ikea gun incident leads to felony charge against customer

Show Caption Hide Caption How to make children safer from gun violence Gun violence and its effect on children is a major concern, especially after the deaths of 17 students and adults in a shooting at a high school in Parkland, Fla., in February 2018.

A Camby gun owner accused of dropping his weapon in the Fishers Ikea, where it was found and fired by a 6-year-old boy, is now facing criminal charges.

On Wednesday, Francis T. Wright, 62, was charged in Hamilton County with one count of criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon.

The incident happened inside Ikea around 2 p.m. Monday, according to court documents. When an officer made it to the scene, he met with an 18-year-old woman who was with two 6-year-old boys in the store's waiting area.

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The officer also saw a dark colored couch with a bullet hole in the top, and a dark colored handgun on the floor nearby.

The woman told police that the boys were playing on the couch when one of them found the gun in the top couch cushions. The boy then fired the weapon into the cushion while playing with it, court documents said.

Shortly after, Wright returned to the area and said he was the owner of the weapon. The gun was identified in court documents as a .380-caliber Kel-Tec P3AT.

Wright told police that he sat down on the couch because his back began hurting.

Wright said he got up off the couch to go find his family without realizing that he left the gun behind, according to court documents. He also told police that he was wearing shorts with pockets that were "shallow and unsafe."

The suspect told police that the gun likely fell out of his pocket as he crossed his legs while sitting on the couch.

After the shooting, Ikea issued a statement apologizing to the family of the child and saying that company officials are cooperating with law enforcement.

The statement also states that guns are not permitted inside Ikea stores.

According to online court records, Wright will make his first appearance in court on July 11. Jail records indicate that Wright is not being held in the Hamilton County Jail at this time.

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at (317) 444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.