‘It doesn’t make sense’: Father upset after gun left unattended

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) - A father is speaking out after someone left their gun unattended at the Fargo Scheels.

Benjamin Erie was in town two weeks ago with his kids to do some early Christmas shopping. His daughter then asked to go on the Ferris wheel. When they got in line, that’s when he was put on high alert.

“While we were in line, two young boys, probably 5-6 year old boys, had pointed out that someone had taken off a firearm and put it in the cubby area,” Erie said.

By the time the got to the front of the line, the firearm was still sitting in the cubby with children passing by.

“Approximately 5-6 children could’ve had access to this firearm sitting out in the open,” Erie said.

Erie assumes the gun’s owner was on the Ferris wheel, as the gun was gone by the time he and his daughter got off the ride.

He said he reached out to Scheels corporate after the incident, and he was told that they were “looking into the incident.” He hasn’t heard from them since.

He’s still in shock over the entire situation.

“It was just one of those situations where it just made me so upset that someone would be that careless and also that you know here, it could happen even. That it didn’t get recognized by their staff or whoever,” Erie said.

Valley News Live spoke with an official from Scheels. They declined to comment on camera.

The official did say however that the Ferris wheel cubbies, in the center of the store, aren’t exactly open to the public. It was also someone’s personal property.

Erie said he understands that there may only be so much Scheels employees can do... As for the gunowner?

“I mean really what’re you thinking?” Erie said. “It doesn’t make sense to me. I mean they gave access to a firearm with a bunch of children around, not even thinking. Like come on.”

While North Dakota may be a concealed carry state, Erie is hoping that after an incident like this one, people may be more aware of their surroundings.

“When I shared this with friends and family, they said, ‘well this is North Dakota, stuff like this happens.’ Well no. That’s not how this state should run,” Erie said. “We shouldn’t just cavalier, we have a firearm sitting in public, with children having access to it, and it’s just, ‘well that’s what it is.’”

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