Reading police raided a home looking for drugs and a drug dealer. Police said they ended up saving three children, who were within arm's reach of drugs and a loaded gun.

Three young children were in a room without an adult, police said. Tuesday night authorities were looking for their mother, who's facing a slew of charges.

Police said there were 6 children in the home they raided Tuesday afternoon. The children police found in the room with the drugs and the loaded gun are 6-years-old, 1-year-old and 8-months-old.

"I've seen it in the past, but not to this level where they were actually sleeping on the mattress where the firearm was," said Sergeant Wayne Levey.

Reading police described this investigation as disturbing after seeing three small children surrounded by drugs and a loaded handgun.

"Two of the children were within arm's reach of the cocaine and were actually sleeping on a bed with a loaded .45-caliber handgun under the mattress that they were sleeping on," said Levey.

Police said they investigated an apartment at 44 North 10th Street in Reading after complaints of drug activity in the neighborhood. They were looking for Jessica Torres, 34. What they found was a table full of evidence and the kids.

"Two of the three at any point could have reached over and easily grabbed a bag of cocaine," said Levey.

There was one adult in the home at the time, but police said she was upstairs.

"They most likely would have overdosed," said Levey in reference to what may have happened if the children got a hold of the cocaine.

Police said Torres is the mother of the three unsupervised children they found during the raid. Two of her other kids were at school when they busted into the apartment

"It's very disturbing to find children in such close proximity to dangerous drugs and obviously the loaded firearms speaks for itself," said Levey.

Police said the children are being placed with family with the help of Berks County Children and Youth Services. They're looking for tips to catch the kids' mom, Jessica Torres.