Man takes unloaded handgun into Dayton VA, expected to face charges

UPDATE: @ 3:55 p.m.

A man who took an unloaded handgun onto the Dayton VA Medical Center campus was expected to face charges over the incident, a spokesman said Tuesday.

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The man, a veteran, also had a second unloaded weapon in his vehicle on the West Dayton campus, Dayton VA spokesman Ted Froats said.

The veteran was not a threat and apparently did not know federal law prohibits carrying a firearm onto a federal facility, according to the VA.

Froats said there was no lockdown on the campus, but an “all-clear” notice was sent to employees this afternoon.

“There’s no active threat so we don’t engage in a lockdown for something like that,” Froats said. “Rumors had gone out so we wanted to clarify that nobody was wandering around with ill intent. It was all under control.”

Both weapons were confiscated, Froats said in an email

“However, Dayton VAMC police emphasize that there was no intent to harm or otherwise use the weapons on campus,” he added. “This appears to have been a simple misunderstanding about the concealed carry laws.”

UPDATE @ 3 p.m. 

A misunderstanding over a concealed weapon led to a brief lock down at the Dayton VA Medical Center, according to Dayton VA spokesman Ted Froats.

Froats said a veteran was carrying a concealed handgun, but there was no threat to the facility “and never was.”

Visitors are prohibited from having firearms on the federal facility.

Froats described the situation as a “misunderstanding.”

FIRST REPORT

Police took a veteran into custody for questioning this afternoon at the Dayton VA Medical Center, spokesmen said.

Details were not immediately available, but campus authorities issued an “all clear” to employees around 2:10 p.m., or within minutes of the person being taken into custody, VA spokesman Raymond Hoy said.

Dayton VA spokesman Ted Froats said it was not clear if the suspect carried a concealed weapon, but no shots were fired and no one was injured.

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