WINTHROP, Wash. – One man was arrested after witnesses claimed he took out a gun while yelling profanities in the Liberty Bell High School parking lot.
The incident happened on October 16 just after noon, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
The suspect was a young man from the area who was at the high school to visit his girlfriend, who was a student at Liberty Bell High School. He met his girlfriend in the parking lot and drove off campus for lunch.
However, before he drove off campus, a group of witnesses told deputies that he had displayed a black pistol and held it out the driver’s side window and dangled it by the barrel while shouting profanities.
Five witnesses reported the event and three confirmed seeing the gun. All witnesses said the firearm was never pointed at anyone.
After the students who witnessed the event told the school, the school went into lockdown.
The school shared the vehicle description with local patrols and patrols found the suspect at 1:05 p.m, according to the Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office.
Okanogan County deputy Tapia asked the suspect about the gun and the suspect denied having a weapon on him or in his car. Instead, he said he had only displayed a holster.
The suspect was arrested anyway based on the witness statements. He was arrested for two counts of possessing dangerous weapons on school facilities and four counts of unlawfully possession of a gun.
The suspect’s car was impounded while deputies waited for a search warrant and the suspect was booked into the Okanogan County Jail.
The suspect’s girlfriend was released to a responsible adult, according to the sheriff’s office.
