An alarming video captured the moment two young brothers passed a loaded gun back and forth and even pulled the trigger at police in New Mexico earlier this year.
At around 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 16, the 7-year-old and 9-year-old took turns handling the firearm in Albuquerque, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office told USA TODAY on Monday, May 12.
Drone footage shared by authorities shows the brothers, one wearing an Minecraft T-shirt and the other wearing a Star Wars one, hiding the weapon behind their backs.
“Put it down, baby,” one deputy is heard saying in the video before several voices are heard shouting at the pair to drop the gun immediately, body camera footage showed.
Sheriff John Allen said that deputies fired a non-lethal round to distract the boys, after which one of them pointed the gun and fired it, but it malfunctioned, according to the Albuquerque Journal and the Associated Press.
Had the gun gone off, Allen said “our deputies could have taken deadly force,” according to the Journal.
“That would not have gone well with anybody in the nation,” he said.
Soon after a deputy approached the boys and was able to get the gun, according to the sheriff’s office. The brothers were swiftly detained without any injuries and the gun was seized.
No arrests made amid ongoing investigation
No arrests have been made as of May 12, according to Sheriff Deputy Connor Otero. The boys remain in their parents’ custody, the Journal reported.
Criminal charges are pending an ongoing investigation into what led to the incident, Otero said.
In a news release, the sheriff’s office said its drone technology allowed deputies to “secure the area swiftly and safely, ultimately preventing a potential deadly force encounter with the juveniles.”
“This case illustrates the complex intersection of juvenile crime, mental health, and public safety,” Sheriff John Allen said in the news release. “We are taking important steps to close service gaps and expand our ability to work with juveniles involved in firearms or violent crimes.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video shows 2 young brothers handling gun before 1 pulls trigger