Columbia Basin College campus security detain man with shotgun
PASCO, WA May 6 2018
A teen is being held on $1 million bail at the Franklin County jail for taking a shotgun onto the Columbia Basin College campus in Pasco.
Prosecutors have until Tuesday to decide whether to charge Jose Amezola, 18, of Othello.
Pasco police are investigating whether Amezola was planning to shoot someone on the CBC campus after he pulled a fire alarm during an evening trivia event.
He is currently being held on a 72-hour investigative hold on suspicion of attempted first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and felony harassment.
The teen was reportedly high on drugs when he was confronted on campus Thursday night after he pulled the alarm in the student services building forcing 20 people outside, said Pasco police and CBC officials.
The security officer held him until police arrived.
Amezola told police he was looking for somebody and then admitted he had hidden a .410-gauge shotgun on campus, said police.
The shotgun was found disassembled next to the flagpole at the veteran’s monument just outside of the student services building.
A backpack belonging to Amezola was found later in another building with more ammunition inside, according to court documents.
He triggered the alarm inside the student services building about 8:30 p.m. He is not a CBC student and was not attending the trivia event, said officials.
He initially told officials he parked his car several miles away and walked to the school. He later changed his story and said he was dropped off at the school, said court documents.
“CBC’s security officers and other CBC employees reacted with great precision and timeliness in locating the individual responsible for pulling the alarm and securing him until police arrived,” college officials said.
It’s not clear what he intended to do after pulling the alarm, said investigators.
Tri-City Herald
