HAINES CITY, Fla. — An early-morning Walmart trip left a 19-year-old in Polk County shocked after she found a mysterious gun stashed away in a comforter set.
Shakier Gamble, a 19-year-old Haines City woman, says she was at the store around 2 a.m. shopping for a new comforter with her niece.
When they grabbed a heavy set off the shelf, it fell to the ground and that's when Gamble says she was looking down the barrel of a black 9mm.
“By me finding it and it dropping, that gun could have went off,” Gamble said.
She feels like she’s been put in harms way and says Walmart's security is lacking.
“Honesty for Walmart to be a huge marketing store the security is lacking in many ways. I thank god that I found it before someone who wasn’t so mature and would have tried to take the gun or touch it," Gamble said in a text message.
The gun was inside the clear plastic of the comforter set. Police say the gun was a black Taurus, 9mm.
Detectives searched a database to see if it the gun was reported stolen, but they say no results came back.
Gamble says looking back on the incident she wishes it would have been handled much better by both Walmart associates and the Haines City Police Department.
"They left me and my family on the aisle alone for 20 minutes after I found it. All I could do when the comforter dropped was scream," Gamble said by text. "The way they made me feel after finding it was very heartbreaking. Walmart gave me a refund and noted disciplinary action was taken upon that manger I spoke with during this traumatizing moment. He told me to handle the situation by calling 1-800-Walmart. My heart cries out for this situation to be taken serious I feel as if me and my family were put in very dangerous situation and and a very anxious situation that we will always remember because we wanted to go shopping 2 a.m. for a bed set.”
ABC Action News reached out to Walmart and a spokesperson sent this statement:
“The safety and security of our customers and associates is a top priority for us. We addressed the situation immediately, and we’re working with the Haines City Police Department to find out how this happened.”
The Haines City Police Department says they are looking further into the situation and trying to find out if the gun has been used in any crimes.
