A close call at a local hospital has Atlanta police searching for a would-be gunman.
An employee made the shocking discovery while she was cleaning up the emergency room at Hughes Spalding Children's Hospital Sunday night.
"She found a handgun in the trash can," said Atlanta Police Officer Curtis Davenport.
In fact, it was more than just a handgun. Hospital workers said it was a loaded Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, fully-loaded with two clips full of ammunition, hidden between the wall of the trash can and the liner.
With that kind of firepower in a hospital emergency room, "someone could potentially cause significant harm," Atlanta firearms safety expert Matt Podowitz pointed out. Altogether, there were at least 40 rounds of ammunition hidden with the weapon.
Davenport said the weapon had not been reported stolen. In fact, he said, it had not been registered at all. There is no record of any owner.
Ballistics teams were checking the weapon to see if it was used in any recent crime, he said.
Police declined to say whether there was video surveillance in the area of the emergency room where the weapon was discovered. The cleaning woman told investigators she emptied that trash bin and changed the liner every three hours. But as the investigation continued, Davenport said there is no indication yet of who hid the weapon in the emergency room lavatory – or why.