Three young boys from Longford are lucky to be alive after they found and shot a loaded gun in the backyard where they were playing on Wednesday.

The Irish Independent
reports that the incident occurred in Palace Crescent, a Longford housing estate, in the back of an unused house.

It is reported that the three boys, all 8 years old, found the gun hidden in the backyard. It is not clear whether or not the gun was shot on purpose.

Gardai seized the weapon that evening and launched an investigation in hopes of finding who left the gun there and why.

Locals sources say that Palace Crescent, an estate of about 35 houses which was built ten years ago, has been the center of ‘anti-social activity’ in recent years. The County Council has recently erected CCTV in the area.

One source told the Independent, “A lot of the houses would be rented, and there was a problem where vacant houses were targeted by people by stripped them of copper piping and left a terrible mess behind.”