2-year-old boy finds loaded handgun in New Jersey playground

PHILLIPSBURG, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Police are wondering how a loaded gun was left in a New Jersey playground after it was found by a 2-year-old boy.

Authorities said the toddler picked up the weapon on Sunday in a playground at the corner of Bates and Marshall streets in Phillipsburg, Warren County.

The town is just over the Delaware River from Easton, Pennsylvania.

"I'm extremely upset," Mayor Todd Tersigni said. "I take it personally because I went from second through fifth grade (in Phillipsburg)."

Tersigni has lived in the neighborhood for more than 50 years.

The mayor said finding a loaded gun in a community park is alarming in the quiet town.

According to reports, the father of the toddler who found the gun was able to get it away from his child safely.

"I just thank God the gentleman recovered the weapon," Tersigni said. "No one was hurt. People are safe."

The child's family is shaken and has asked for privacy.

Investigators are looking into the history of the gun to help determine where it came from.

They are asking for any surveillance video from around the neighborhood that might help them piece together the series of events.

Anyone with information is asked to call Phillipsburg police.