Family found secretly living with weapons cache in children’s museum

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CARSON CITY, Nev. — A Nevada couple were discovered secretly guarding a cache of weapons and living with their two children at a northern Nevada children’s museum where they worked, authorities said.

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A janitor at the Children’s Museum of Northern Nevada was arrested late last week, KRNV-TV in Reno reported Friday. The 41-year-old was charged with negligence and endangerment of children and possession of a suppressor and a short-barreled shotgun.

Authorities discovered the arsenal in a storage room, they said. A police report mentioned an AK-47 rifle, three handguns, a pistol, ammunition, knives and a taser that could have been hit by a child. The stash also included drug paraphernalia like a bong and a used marijuana joint.

Officials realized the family lived in the museum after the man’s 2-year-old child was spotted walking nearby unattended, the Carson City Sheriff’s Office said. It was not the first time police had interacted with the man about his child being left alone. But this time, the toddler’s older sister gave deputies the museum as her address.

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Authorities, accompanied by a museum board member, then walked through the property and saw signs that people were living there. Sleeping bags, mattresses, clothing and food were among the items found in areas off-limits to visitors, the sheriff’s office said.

The janitor’s wife, director of the museum, also lived there, investigators said. But they did not identify her or say whether she would face charges.

The couple have since been fired and the museum closed.

The museum’s board is facing questions about how this could have happened. The band issued an apology and said they were « shocked and saddened ».

“We are looking for the best path to reopen in a way that not only keeps all of our visitors safe, but that we, as a community, can also be proud of,” they said in a statement.

The museum will reopen after the hiring of a new director. But that won’t be enough for some parents.

Leah Tsuchimoto, who works at a nearby hotel, told the TV station she would never take her children there again. The whole ordeal was « a complete shock », she said.