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Florida Father Brings Loaded AK-47 To School After His Son Calls Him Crying, Police Say
Hours before showing up at the school, Christopher Freeman claims his son told him over FaceTime that a teacher had “slammed” him.
A distraught father allegedly brought a loaded AK-47 to his son’s Florida middle school after that son called him crying, police said.
Christopher Freeman, 27, arrived at Bear Lakes Middle School in West Palm Beach around 4 p.m. Monday in a wheelchair with the loaded gun allegedly sticking out of his pants.
Palm Beach County School District police said Freeman was irate after receiving a FaceTime call from his son, who told his father a teacher at the school had “slammed” him, ABC News reports.
He allegedly threatened to harm school authorities if he wasn’t allowed to see his son during the heated exchange, which caused the school to go on a lockdown.
"Freeman was visibly upset and was yelling and screaming 'You're going to need more than what you got because of what I got,'” the arrest affidavit said. "He also said 'I want to see the guy who slammed my son. I've got something for him.'"
District police were able to get Freeman outside the building, where they asked if he’d consent to a search.
“You ain’t touching me,” he allegedly told investigators according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.
After backup officers arrived, police searched Freeman and found the AK-47 Mini Draco pistol with an extended 30-round magazine, police said.
The altercation began after Freeman said he had received a FaceTime call with his son around 3 p.m., in which the boy was crying and reported being “slammed” by a teacher. During the call, Freeman would later tell investigators he saw an adult grab his child, causing the cell phone to fall.
He said he arrived at the school not realizing he was carrying the gun, which he had bought from a friend a year ago and regularly carried for protection. He also claimed he didn’t know guns were not allowed on the school’s property.
However, an assistant principal allegedly spoke to Freeman earlier in the day about his child and said Freeman had threatened “You’re all dead,” during the call, the local paper reports.
Freeman was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm on school grounds, aggravated assault with a weapon and disrupting a school function. His bond was set at $75,000. The judge ordered he stay off the school’s grounds and that he wear an ankle monitor if he’s released, WPBF reports.
The school district sent a phone message to parents detailing the lockdown and commending the officers for their quick thinking.
“I want to thank the quick action of our own school police, in cooperation with the West Palm Beach Police Department, for their cooperation in removing this individual from our campus,” the message said. “Once the parent was removed, our campus returned to an ‘All Clear’ for a regular dismissal.”
