Police are investigating after a bizarre incident at Seattle Central Wednesday in which a man was arrested after school security found he was carrying what authorities said was an assault rifle inside a guitar case on the Capitol Hill college’s Broadway campus.
A SPD spokesperson tells CHS that the man was taken into custody without incident when officers arrived at the school after being called by security just after 5 PM as the 34-year-old had been detained and the weapon discovered. Police say a witness spotted the subject who is believed to have been formerly enrolled at the school and told security he was known to carry a gun.
Officers arrived, seized the weapon, and took the man into custody for trespassing and carrying a firearm on a school campus, a misdemeanor offense. The man reportedly did not make any threats. The SPD spokesperson said he did not know if the suspect told police why he was carrying the gun in a guitar case. Police say the man was also wanted on a felony warrant for larceny in another county. UPDATE 12/12/2016: According to police, the department report describes the weapon as a “semi-automatic” rifle but the spokesperson said he did not have information about the specific type of gun involved.
“We are extremely fortunate that no one was harmed and that at no time was anyone on our campus directly threatened,” a school announcement about the incident sent to students read. “This incident had a positive outcome because someone on campus was vigilant and reported their concern to our Public Safety Office.”
The suspect was booked into King County Jail and is awaiting charges.
UPDATE: SPD has posted its brief on the incident here.
Thanks to @maggim for the tip.
This is EXACTLY why we need a federal ban on all types of assault weapons. There is no need for a person to be carrying around a military-style weapon on a college campus, or anywhere for that matter. He didn’t do any harm….this time…but the potential for a mass shooting is there.
If it truly was an assault rifle (which I highly doubt because all they charged him with was a misdemeanor), then it would already have been illegal for him to carry, let alone a a school campus. There is a big difference between an assault rifle and an AR-15 or similar firearm: it is called automatic fire in case you don’t know. It has been illegal for a civilian to own such weapons since 1933 I believe unless you have a FFL.
I own what some of the UNIFORMED would call an assault rifle.It is a 22 rifle like yor grandpa may have had.It fires ONE bullet everytime I pull the trigger. People cry ban assault rifles but they cant
define what one is
Figuring this would come up, I’ve been asking about specifics on the type of gun seized. According to police, the department report describes the weapon as a “semi-automatic” rifle but the spokesperson said he did not have information about the specific type of gun involved. I’m not sure situation is any less concerning knowing what type of gun was in the guitar case but that’s the best I got.