Hamilton police say officers arrested a 23-year-old man who allegedly brought a handgun at a festival in Hamilton where many gathered, including children, Saturday night, preventing a “tragedy.”
Around 9:20 p.m., officers on patrol at Winona Peach Festival at Winona Park saw a disturbance break out near the midway between two men and went on to investigate.
“As officers approached, bystanders alerted that one of the suspects in this altercation had a firearm which had been racked and ready to fire,” Insp. Jim Callender told reporters during a press conference Sunday afternoon.
Officers proceeded to arrest the man, but Callender said several people tried to impede or swarm in on them as they were apprehending him.
“Our officers were attempting to gain compliance and giving directions to those members of the community to back away from the area to create a safe space for us. (But) they weren’t abiding by those directions,” …