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On March 26, 27-year-old Brandon Bentley was arrested by North Carolina authorities after he entered the A&T State University campus armed with several weapons and over 1000 rounds of ammunition. According to authorities, Bentley allegedly chased unarmed security guards around the campus and threatened law enforcement officers when they arrived at the scene.
Trigger warning: This article is related to gun violence. Reader discretion is advised
As per North Carolina authorities, upon the arrest of Brandon Bentley, officers recovered several weapons. These included two shotguns, two handguns, one rifle, one crossbow, a stun gun, a machete, and several knives, hatchets, and choking devices.
He has been charged with having guns on an educational property, as well as multiple other weapons possession charges. Authorities have not confirmed his intentions.
Brandon Bentley claimed he was being targeted by a religious cult
As per ABC 11, Brandon Bentley is currently out on a $100,000 bond. Officials confirmed that he is facing two felonies and four misdemeanors, and had also brought fireworks with him.
Despite this, they have not confirmed whether or not he will face any terrorism charges. Authorities did not immediately consider him a major threat, as he had come to them for help. The suspect claimed that he was being targeted by a religious cult.
Bilyana Garland, a senior at North Carolina A&T, said she was disturbed by the suspect's potential intent.
She said:
"Hearing all the stuff that he had like choking stuff and brass knuckles and the rifles and the chainsaws it's like what is this guy thinking? Who is he trying to hurt? It's scary to think that somebody could have been a victim of whatever he was trying to do."
Officials have not confirmed whether or not Brandon Bentley was targeting the university or a specific person on the campus.
Gun violence in America
As gun violence in educational institutions continues to ruin lives across the nation, the case of Brandon Bentley is understandably a disturbing one for A&T University students. The University, on the other hand, said that no alert was raised about his presence on campus because the situation was dealt with so swiftly.
In an official statement, a North Carolina A&T spokesperson wrote:
“Because of the quick and decisive action of law enforcement, a campus alert was not issued, as the suspect no longer constituted an ongoing threat to campus safety."
However, the concern among students was understandable. As of April, the United States of America has seen 134 mass shootings, leaving 196 people dead and 470 wounded. Two of these mass shootings took place at an educational institution.
In an official statement, Kris Brown of Brady: United Against Gun Violence, condemned what she described as government inaction.
Brown said:
"These regular, uniquely American tragedies must be a call to action for our political leaders. We need decisive change to US gun laws and regulations. The cost of political inaction on preventing gun violence is increasingly, tragically clear."
The case against Brandon Bentley is currently ongoing.
