A Florida man was arrested for having an AK-47 on school property in Virginia and claiming he was going to see the CIA, according to police.
The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Eric Sandow of Gainesville, Florida, was later arrested and charged with felony possession of a firearm on school property, police said.
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Sandow allegedly trespassed on the grounds of Dolley Madison Preschool around 11 a.m. Tuesday, police said.
The preschool is less than 1.5 miles from CIA Headquarters and about a 10-minute drive to major landmarks in Washington, including the National Mall.
“While speaking with him, he made statements he had weapons inside his car located on school property,” the police department said in a statement Wednesday.
Officials seized an AK-47 assault rifle with five magazines, a handgun with six magazines, as well as several boxes and bags of ammo from Sandow’s vehicle.
“He requested access to the (preschool) building facilities to use the restroom, which was denied by school staff,” Dolley Madison Preschool said in a statement Wednesday. “At no point did he gain physical entrance to the school building.”
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“It does not appear he was acting in conjunction with anyone else,” Fairfax County police said. “Sandow did not make any threats, and the weapons never left the vehicle.”
A court official said Sandow was arraigned Wednesday morning in Fairfax County General District Court and will remain in jail.
Police praised the alert person who called them to the preschool.
“We’re grateful to the community member who did the right thing and called us,” police said. “We’d like to remind our community to report suspicious activity as you never know what you may prevent by making that call.”
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