It must be such a mixed bag when you’re a police officer on traffic duty. You probably hear all sorts of excuses about people running late for work that caused their increase in speed or how they just haven’t had time to get their car in to fix that taillight. It seems one skill that always needs to be in a police officer’s arsenal is the ability to expect the unexpected. Such was the case for a police officer in Minnesota, who pulled over a man for a routine traffic stop. During the stop, a toddler in the vehicle reached into a nearby diaper bag and pulled out a gun.
A Minnesota police officer pulled over a man and found a toddler in the back seat with a gun nearby.
A Minnesota man is facing charges after being pulled over by police, who saw a child in the back seat pulling out a handgun, KARE 11 reported.
On May 11, 2026, 36-year-old Kenneth Terry was charged after he was pulled over in St. Paul for a seatbelt violation, per the news outlet.
According to the criminal complaint, after the officer at the scene approached the vehicle, he realized Terry had active warrants out for his arrest, which prompted a call for other units to arrive for backup, per KARE 11.
One officer remained at the scene with three young children who were traveling with Terry, and that’s when things took a turn.
While grabbing a tissue for a sibling, a toddler showed an officer a handgun from near the family’s diaper bag.
According to CBS News, Terry had three children under the age of 3 in the back seat of the vehicle.
An officer noted that one of the kids was not properly buckled in and was crying, per the new outlet. A second child climbed into the diaper bag, which was on the floor of the car, to grab a tissue for a sibling who had a runny nose. That was when the child turned to the officer holding a handgun, CBS News reported.
The officer asked the child to put the gun down on the seat and he quickly recovered it. The charges note that the gun did not have a round of ammunition in its chamber, but it had six rounds in its magazine, per the news outlet. When the officer asked the child where the handgun came from, the child allegedly pointed to the diaper bag.
Terry was charged with two misdemeanor charges in this incident.
According to KSTP, Terry was charged with two misdemeanor charges: endangerment of a child by firearm access and possessing a pistol without a permit in a public area.
Terry reportedly told authorities he had gotten the gun for protection after receiving death threats. According to court records, he had put the firearm by the diaper bag because he had been pulled over, KSTP reported. He was sent to Ramsey County Jail, and his bail was set at $5,000.
We hope the three children in the back of his car that day are with someone safe and nurturing during this time.
