Furious man, 72, grabs high school principal by his shirt and waves his handgun around at dance because the music was too loud
- Robert Layton drove to Thatcher High School’s parking lot around 11.45pm Friday and complained about the loud music
- Witnesses say Layton pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and waved it around before pulling wires to disable the music
- A DJ at the event wrestled Layton to the ground and disarmed him
- Layton was undergoing an evaluation at a hospital before being booked into jail
A 72-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of waving a gun at a high school dance in Arizona because he didn’t like the loud music.
Police in the small southeastern Arizona town of Thatcher say Robert Layton drove to the high school parking lot around 11.45 p.m. Friday and complained about the loud music.
Witnesses say Layton pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and waved it around at Thatcher High School before pulling wires to disable the music.
Police say Robert Layton drove to Thatcher High School parking lot around 11:45 p.m. Friday and complained about the loud music
The school dance was being held in the school parking lot, with around 150 students in attendance along with staff and a DJ.
The DJ, Bryson Wren, wrestled Layton to the ground and disarmed him.
Authorities later said there were no bullets in the handgun.
Layton was undergoing an evaluation at a hospital before being booked into jail.
It was unclear Sunday if he has a lawyer yet who could speak on his behalf.
Thatcher Police Chief Shaffen Woods told the Eastern Arizona Courier: ‘I am thankful to those people that took quick action during this stressful event. I am grateful no one was seriously hurt,’ Woods said. ‘I’m also very proud of the officers who responded.’
Witnesses say Layton pulled a 9mm handgun out of his pocket and waved it around at Thatcher High School before pulling wires to disable the music
Junior varsity football player Kade Nelson, 15, said he saw Layton storm up to the principal and grab him by his shirt.
‘You could tell he was pretty angry about something and he was like yelling at the principal over the music so I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but he was pretty fired up about something and the principal was just sitting there kind of listening.
‘Then I saw the man (Layton) pull out something black. It looked like the shape of a gun but I couldn’t make out any details,’ Nelson said.
The teen said that the DJ interjected and pushed Layton to the ground, ordering him to ‘not touch the gun.’
Nelson said several football players came forward to help Wren, but it was quickly apparent that he had the situation under control.
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