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A student at Edgecombe Community College in North Carolina was arrested for bringing guns and ammunition to campus, ABC11 reported.
A faculty member reported to campus security on Monday that the student, Jason William Messenbrink, appeared to be acting erratically in a nearby parking lot. Tarboro Police Department officers found three rifles, ammunition and “material that linked the individual to a hate-based group” in Messenbrink’s car, according to a statement from the police department. Campus buildings Messenbrink had entered were evacuated, but classes resumed Tuesday when no more suspicious items were found.
Edgecombe Community College president Greg McLeod told ABC11 that he was thankful the professor took notice of Messenbrink’s behavior and recognized that “some intervention or at least some external review, perhaps by a trained officer” was warranted, “to intervene and look at the situation.”
Tarboro police chief Jesse Webb told the news outlet that Messenbrink gave “excuses” for his actions to officers, and no intent had been established yet.
Messenbrink, who enrolled for the first time this semester, has since been withdrawn from classes. He’s charged with possession of a firearm on educational property and is being held at Edgecombe County Detention Center on a $750,000 bond.