Loaded Gun Found In Backpack Left At Newtown Store: Police

NEWTOWN, CT — A loaded gun found inside a backpack left behind at a Newtown store led to a reckless endangerment arrest, according to police.

Newtown police said a customer at the General Store discovered the loaded firearm inside a backpack on June 24. Store employees then contacted police.

Investigators determined the backpack's owner had inadvertently left it — and the firearm inside — behind after leaving the establishment, according to police.

The owner turned himself in to Newtown police Wednesday on an active warrant stemming from the incident and was arrested on a charge of second-degree reckless endangerment.

He was released on a written promise to appear and is scheduled to appear Sept. 8 in Danbury Superior Court, according to police.