A Bakersfield College student was arrested March 9 after making threats in the cafeteria with a BB handgun.
Detective Blaine Craig of the Bakersfield Police Department said that the suspect was 19, wearing a gray-hooded sweatshirt, and a black do-rag. He also indicated that the suspect is part of a gang in Bakersfield.
“The suspect, according to the information we have, is part of a gang called the Countryboy Crips,” he said. “Whether this is a related incident is unknown at this time.”
According to BPD, the first name of the suspect is Jermaine, and the suspect was overheard telling a BPD officer his last name was Turner.
Amber Chiang, director of Marketing and Public Relations at BC, identified there are three charges against the suspect, which are participation in a criminal street gang, brandishing or displaying a weapon and felony making criminal threats.
According to witnesses interviewed by the BPD, the student walked into the cafeteria, was heard saying “I will kill you all,” then showed what was believed to be a weapon tucked into his waist.
Although the magnitude of the threat was unknown, students who witnessed the event contacted Public Safety, which then locked down strategic locations of the campus. The lockdown did not last more than 10 minutes.
Shortly after the incident occurred, Public Safety was looking for the suspect. As one witness was being interviewed, a man walked by the Public Safety officer, and the witness was quoted as saying, “That’s him.” At that time, the man was thrown to the ground and detained.
Initially, a weapon was not found, however the suspect did release the location of the BB handgun after being questioned by BPD officers.
The gun was found by Public Safety officials in the BC gym, and according to Craig, the BB handgun was a gun that was still capable of causing injury.
“We take it immediately serious,” said Chiang. “We have Public Safety officers that do patrol the campus routinely, and they were here within moments.”