Police in Pinole have announced that, earlier this week, Pinole Middle School was placed on lockdown after students and a teacher spotted a man with a gun slung over his shoulder.
It turns out the man, a 20-year-old Pinole resident, had been target shooting in his backyard with an airsoft rifle. He had never left his yard.
During the Wednesday afternoon incident, students were evacuated from the gymnasium. Police from Pinole and Hercules responded to the scene, along with a K-9 unit, according to a press release.
No charges have been filed, police said.
More details from the Pinole Police Department follow:
On January 16, 2013 at 12:28 PM Pinole PD received information that a Pinole Middle School teacher and students had seen a male subject with a gun on the hillside to the west of the school’s gymnasium. The subject was described as Hispanic wearing a dark beanie, black hooded sweatshirt, and dark-colored cargo-type shorts. Witnesses described the gun as a rifle in a soft case slung over the subject’s shoulder. The Pinole PD school resource officer assigned to the campus evacuated all students and staff from the gymnasium and the campus was locked down by school staff, securing all students and staff safely inside the buildings.
Pinole Police officers responded to the area and with the assistance of the Hercules Police Department, established a perimeter. Officers searched the area with the assistance of the Pinole K9 and found a subject matching the description in a backyard of his residence on Boyle Court. The subject was detained without incident. During the investigation, officers found one Air Soft and one pellet-type rifles in the subject’s house.
The subject, a 20-year-old Pinole resident, admitted he had been target shooting in his backyard with one of the air guns. The officers’ investigation determined the subject was never on school property and never left his backyard. The subject was released at the scene and no charges have been filed. The lock-down was lifted and the campus returned to normal school business.
