Facebook Photo Raid: Gun Picture Leads To 'An Alarming Event That Requires A Nighttime Raid'
After a Facebook photo was posted of a young boy holding a gun, the family's home was raided by a child welfare officer.
On Friday Shawn Moore posted a photo to his Facebook account of his sone safely holding a firearm. Later that night, he says his home was raided by a child welfare official with several police officers in tow.
The Facebook photo in question is of Moore's 10-year-old son with what appears to be an assault rifle but is actually a .22 caliber rifle. The gun was reportedly a present for the boy's upcoming 11th birthday.
Reports have said that the Moore family home was raided Friday night by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF) after they received a tip from their hotline about the picture. The official had allegedly not even see the Facebook photo.
The DCF officer did not identify herself and, according to Moore, forced her way into the house without a warrant then demanded he open his gun safe. She is also said to have threatened Moore, saying she would take away his kids.
Moore said he refused to comply and understands his rights. He said the unlawful raid was government overreach and violated his rights.
He wrote in a statement about the unwarranted raid of his home Friday night, "They kept trying to pressure me to open my safe," said the father. "They had no warrant, no charges, nothing. I didn't budge. I was told I was being "unreasonable" and that I was acting suspicious because I wouldn't open my safe. [They] told me they were gonna get a search warrant. Told 'em go ahead... They left, empty-handed and seeing nothing."
The DCF has not confirmed or denied Moore's telling of the events. They did, however, release a statement saying that it is their policy to investigate all allegations that are reported.
"We have a cultural issue with guns at the moment that changes something that would have been an innocent picture and turns it into an alarming event that requires a nighttime raid," said Shawn Moore's lawyer, Evan Nappen. "That's a problem."
Moore is an NRA-certified firearms safety instructor and state-certified hunting instructor and while still very young, Josh is also a state-certified hunter.