A man who was carrying an AR-15 near a southwest Miami-Dade school that prompted a campus lockdown Thursday was arrested, school officials said.
Numerous calls to 911 reported sightings of a man riding an ATV with the rifle's barrel protruding from his bookbag while parents dropped off their children at around 7 a.m. at South Dade Senior High School, police said in an arrest report.
School officials locked down the campus as police searched for hours. They did not find an intruder or anyone with a gun and reopened the school.
Christian Louis Edinger, 23, was later arrested and taken to jail. Police said they found him at his home, where he told officers that he was driving back from being at his brother's house earlier that morning.
Edinger said he drove by the school with his AR-15 in his bag and showed officers his weapons, officials said. Police later impounded a shotgun, AR-15, handgun and multiple rounds of ammunition.
School officials said he had no connection to the school or campus.
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Edinger is facing charges of improper exhibition of a firearm and interference of a school, according to an arrest report. He was released late Thursday night on bond, and attorney information was not available.
In a news conference, Miami-Dade Superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho said the police response was a direct result of lessons learned from the Parkland shooting.
"We could not take any chances. This is one of those where in an over-abundance of caution and following the strictest response protocols, you do what you have to do," Carvalho said.
