Battle Creek PD: Men claim ignorance after knives found on school property

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. (WOOD) — Battle Creek police say two men were found with knives and BB guns in a school parking lot, but the men told police they had pulled into the lot while experiencing car problems, unaware that it was school property.

Tuesday afternoon, the Battle Creek Police Department responded to Riverside Elementary School for “a report of an armed individual on the premises,” according to a release from the department.

“A witness reported seeing two men retrieving what appeared to be rifles from the trunk of a black Chevrolet Cobalt near the south side of the school,” the release says.

BCPD says it put the school on lockdown, detained the men for questioning and conducted a search, which revealed knives, airsoft guns and BB guns.

The men, ages 56 and 66, told police that car troubles had caused them to pull into the parking lot. They said they had unloaded the contents of their trunk while searching for a car jack, but they told police they didn’t know they were on school property and didn’t intend to commit a violent act, according to the release.

Both were taken into custody and taken to the county jail, according to BCPD. Police say the 56-year-old man is facing charges of carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon in a school zone and open intoxication, while the 66-year-old man is facing a charge of open intoxication and was issued a misdemeanor citation. Their names were not released Tuesday.

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