The officer who left their loaded gun unattended at a high school football game in Clovis was a state peace officer for the Department of Justice, a spokesperson confirmed.
The name of the officer has not been released, but Clovis Unified School District spokesperson Kelly Avants confirmed Monday the officer worked for the DOJ.
Local students walked into a restroom at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Friday and found a loose gun during the game between Buchanan High and Golden West High, a Visalia school, police with the school district said.
The statement from police noted the students did not touch the gun and alerted staffers. A photo of the handgun inside a holster on top of a toilet paper holder made the rounds on social media.
The Department of Justice issued a statement Monday, but did not identify the officer.
“At the California Department of Justice, we hold our special agents to the highest standard and are committed to maintaining the utmost integrity throughout this process,” the statement said. “We want to assure the community that we are actively investigating this incident and are committed to accountability and transparency. To ensure a fair and complete investigation, we cannot provide further comments at this stage.”
A person who leaves a gun unattended in California can face a misdemeanor charge and be fined $250 for a first offense. The charge can be a more serious $1,000 fine and potential jail time if a child gets to the gun and takes it into public.
The charge could be a felony if the child were to injure someone with the gun, according to the state penal code.
Similar incidents have happened in the region. The former San Luis Obispo police chief left her gun in an El Pollo Loco bathroom in 2019, according to a report from The Tribune.
Chief Deanna Cantrell was ultimately given a $1,600 fine, or the equivalent of two days of suspension. She was also required to take safety training.
This story was originally published August 24, 2026 at 1:24 PM.
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Reporter Thaddeus Miller has covered cities in the central San Joaquin Valley since 2010, writing about everything from breaking news to government and police accountability. A native of Fresno, he joined The Fresno Bee in 2019 after time in Merced and Los Banos.