By Matt Fredmonsky
Record-Courier staff writer
An apparently wayward hunter armed with a shotgun walked onto Kent City Schools property near Theodore Roosevelt High and Stanton Middle schools early Tuesday.
A school bus driver spotted the man at about 7:30 a.m. at Standing Rock Cemetery across from the high school. School employees relayed the information to Kent police, who confronted the man between the high school and middle school before 8 a.m.
He told police he was walking from his home on the east side of Kent to a property on Johnson Road in Franklin Township to do some hunting, Kent Police Lt. Jayme Cole said.
“At no time was there any threat to school kids,” Cole said. “But the guy just didn’t have a clue people might perceive him as a threat walking through a school zone with a gun.”
Cole said officers took the weapon, escorted the hunter off school property and took him to his destination in Franklin Township, but police did not arrest the man. The case is being reviewed and he eventually may face charges.
It is illegal to carry a deadly weapon into a school safety zone in Ohio. According to the Ohio Revised Code, any person who violates the law could face a fifth-degree felony charge.
Kent Superintendent Joe Giancola said parents were alerted with a parent broadcast at 8 a.m., and principals in both schools made announcements to students informing them of the situation.
Giancola said the incident took place as students arrived for school and some witnessed police arrive and escort the man off school property. He said the man had the gun slung visibly over his shoulder.
“We were never in lock down,” Giancola said. “As unusual as this incident is, we’re relieved to know nothing ever happened to cause any harm. Kent police were on the scene immediately and apprehended the man.”