Man With BB Gun Chased Through School Playground

A man sought for pointing a gun at people wrecked his car in the parking lot of an Athens elementary school, prompting a brief lockdown at the school Monday afternoon.

The man was carrying a BB gun.

Athens-Clarke County Police said in a media release that William Dennis Durham, 25, was arrested and charged with terroristic threats/acts, obstructing/hindering an officer, reckless driving, hit and run and driving without a license.

Officers responded around 5 p.m. to the area of Broad Street and Alps Road on a report of a man pointing a gun at people. A witness told police that Durham turned into the parking lot at Alps Road Elementary and wrecked his vehicle.

The first-responding officer spotted the suspect walking across the school’s playground. When he saw police, he started running toward Clarke Middle School next door.

After a school staffer saw the man being chased, the school was briefly locked down, the Athens Banner-Herald reported.

As officers approached the middle school, Durham allegedly “took what appeared to be a defensive position” with the gun. When ordered to drop the gun, Durham gave up.

It was at that point, police saw the weapon was actually a BB gun.