Man arrested outside North Carolina HBCU had more than 1,000 rounds of ammo
A 27-year-old man is facing a slew of charges after he was arrested at North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University, a historically Black college, with more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
Brandon James Bentley was arrested on March 26 by Greensboro police, according to WXII. Police said they were responding to a call by university security officers, who said Bentley was violent, making threats and chasing unarmed guards on the campus.
When police arrived on scene, they discovered numerous weapons in Bentley’s vehicle, including two handguns, two shotguns, a rifle, a crossbow, a machete, hatchets, a stun gun, brass knuckles, a blow dart gun and more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition.
The Greensboro Police Department’s Hazardous Devices Team also arrived on scene after concerns were raised of a potential explosive device being in Bentley’s possession. No device was discovered, but the department recovered fireworks at the scene.
Bentley was arrested and charged with multiple offenses including carrying a firearm on educational property, having an explosive device on educational property, a weapon on educational property and carrying a concealed weapon. He appeared in court on March 27.
The incident follows a string of racist threats targeting HBCUs in 2021, which the FBI and Department of Justice found to be the work of a single minor.
In January and February of 2021, at least 57 colleges received bomb threats through phone calls, emails and anonymous online postings. At least 18 schools received bomb threats on Feb. 1, 2021, the first day of Black History Month. Similar threats followed into 2022.
The university released a statement after Bentley’s arrest saying the FBI, the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tabacco and Firearms and the Greensboro Police Department are working on a joint investigation into the incident.
Bentley, the statement added, has no affiliation with the school and has been banned from the campus.