Advertisement

Man arrested after entering Johnston Co. school wearing tactical vest, gun and fake badge

A Johnston County man was arrested Friday morning after allegedly entering an elementary school while armed, wearing tactical gear and impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Nathan James Bailey, 34, of Raleigh, entered the campus of Dixon Road Elementary School at approximately 9:09 a.m. wearing a tactical raid vest that held a handgun and a badge that read “private investigator,” the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Friday.

Bailey, who has a child attending the school, was recognized as a parent by school staff as he passed through the school’s weapons detection system. He was ordered by staff to leave the building with his firearm.

Authorities didn’t disclose Bailey’s motive.

Law enforcement was notified afterward and Bailey left the school before deputies arrived, authorities said. He was arrested at the Sheriff’s Office when contacted by authorities who wished to speak to him.

Bailey was charged with felony possession of a firearm on educational property and misdemeanor Impersonation of an officer. He is being held in Johnston County jail under a $12,000 bond.

Bailey is not a law enforcement officer or a licensed private investigator, Johnston County sheriff’s office investigators found.

Dixon Road Elementary School does not have an assigned school resource officer on site, the sheriff’s office said.

The News & Observer has reached out to the Sheriff’s Office for more information.