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BERKELEY, Mo. (AP) — A father who was upset that a student had been fighting with one of his children stormed onto a middle school bus with a loaded pistol in suburban St. Louis and threatened everyone onboard, authorities say.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Christian Goodson was charged Wednesday with two counts of unlawful use of a weapon and seven counts of endangering the welfare of a child, along with misdemeanor property damage and assault counts. His bond was set at $100,000 cash only. No attorney is listed for him in online court records.
Earlier in the day, a fight among students waiting at the bus stop continued when they boarded the bus, said Kevin Hampton, a spokesman for the Ferguson-Florissant School District.
Goodson became angry and used a pistol to break the glass on the school bus door when the driver wouldn’t let him onboard, Berkeley Police Officer Mike Wallish said in court papers. Fearing Goodson would start shooting, a district employee opened the door and let Goodson step onto the bus, Wallish said.
Goodson pushed the driver, said "You got what you wanted" and pointed the pistol at everyone on the bus, court records said. The students then ran to the back of the bus, and Goodson took his two children and left, police said.
The bus carried nine students, a new bus driver, a veteran driver who was mentoring the new one, and another staff member who was riding as a bus monitor because of previous disruptions and fights on the bus.
Berkeley Police Chief Art Jackson said officers arrested Goodson later at his home and recovered the loaded pistol. Jackson said officers also took other parents and students into custody but provided no details.
Tangie Francwar, principal of the Johnson-Wabash Sixth Grade Center, said in a letter to parents that the father was on the bus for 37 seconds and had encouraged students to fight, although the police summary doesn't mention that. No one was hurt.
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