Strasburg Man Explains ‘Rifle’ Sign At School
Dec. 19 Sandy Hook Action Led To Arrest
Posted: January 26, 2013
WOODSTOCK — A man accused of bringing a sign reading “High-powered rifle” into a Shenandoah County elementary school in December said Friday that his intention had been to prove a point, not cause any harm.
Christopher Gerrit Johnson, 33, of Strasburg, is charged with one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the Dec. 19 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Strasburg. It occurred just five days after a mass shooting at a school of the same name in Newtown, Conn., left 20 children and six adults dead.
On Friday, Johnson was in Shenandoah County General District Court to have a trial date set, but Judge Amy Tisinger agreed to delay the hearing a second time to give him more time to hire an attorney.
“I’ll give you one more chance,” Tisinger said as she agreed to reschedule the hearing for March 22.
Johnson said after he was arrested that he was let go from his job and hadn’t been able to secure a new one. In addition, he said he was having trouble finding an attorney in the county to represent him and had run into conflicts of interest with a few lawyers because they previously worked with Shenandoah County Schools.
In an interview following Friday’s court appearance, Johnson said the main goal of his act at the school was to highlight gaps in security.
Johnson recalled the morning of Dec. 14, when he first learned of the school massacre in Connecticut. He said for about 10 minutes he thought it had occurred at the elementary school of the same name in Strasburg, where his mother works.
Johnson said he was on his way to work at the time.
“I literally got sick with grief,” he said. “I had to pull my car over and throw up. For those 10 minutes, I felt the grief of all those parents [in Connecticut].”
After that, Johnson said, he made inquiries to Shenandoah County Schools about security and how the division was planning to increase it. He said he wasn’t satisfied with the responses.
“I decided I was going to go test it myself,” he said. “I was very concerned for the children and for my mother that works there. I didn’t go in to assault anyone.”
The scene at the school on Dec. 19, he said, was far from chaotic. Johnson said he was met at the school entryway by the guidance counselor.
“I was invited into the principal’s office and I was asking questions,” he said. “I wasn’t waving the sign around or anything. It was laid to the side. In my eyes, it was a metaphor for a weapon.”
When seven police vehicles pulled into the school parking lot, and he was placed under arrest, Johnson said he was surprised.
“There was just no intent to harm or scare anyone,” he said.
Johnson spent nine days in jail and six at a mental health facility in Petersburg before being released on a $2,000 bond.
He said he’s saddened about being prohibited from being on school property in the county, particularly for sporting events.
“It breaks my heart,” Johnson said, noting that he grew up in Shenandoah County and played both basketball and football in school. “This is my community. I’ve gotten a lot of support.”
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com
Christopher Gerrit Johnson, 33, of Strasburg, is charged with one count of misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the Dec. 19 incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Strasburg. It occurred just five days after a mass shooting at a school of the same name in Newtown, Conn., left 20 children and six adults dead.
On Friday, Johnson was in Shenandoah County General District Court to have a trial date set, but Judge Amy Tisinger agreed to delay the hearing a second time to give him more time to hire an attorney.
“I’ll give you one more chance,” Tisinger said as she agreed to reschedule the hearing for March 22.
Johnson said after he was arrested that he was let go from his job and hadn’t been able to secure a new one. In addition, he said he was having trouble finding an attorney in the county to represent him and had run into conflicts of interest with a few lawyers because they previously worked with Shenandoah County Schools.
In an interview following Friday’s court appearance, Johnson said the main goal of his act at the school was to highlight gaps in security.
Johnson recalled the morning of Dec. 14, when he first learned of the school massacre in Connecticut. He said for about 10 minutes he thought it had occurred at the elementary school of the same name in Strasburg, where his mother works.
Johnson said he was on his way to work at the time.
“I literally got sick with grief,” he said. “I had to pull my car over and throw up. For those 10 minutes, I felt the grief of all those parents [in Connecticut].”
After that, Johnson said, he made inquiries to Shenandoah County Schools about security and how the division was planning to increase it. He said he wasn’t satisfied with the responses.
“I decided I was going to go test it myself,” he said. “I was very concerned for the children and for my mother that works there. I didn’t go in to assault anyone.”
The scene at the school on Dec. 19, he said, was far from chaotic. Johnson said he was met at the school entryway by the guidance counselor.
“I was invited into the principal’s office and I was asking questions,” he said. “I wasn’t waving the sign around or anything. It was laid to the side. In my eyes, it was a metaphor for a weapon.”
When seven police vehicles pulled into the school parking lot, and he was placed under arrest, Johnson said he was surprised.
“There was just no intent to harm or scare anyone,” he said.
Johnson spent nine days in jail and six at a mental health facility in Petersburg before being released on a $2,000 bond.
He said he’s saddened about being prohibited from being on school property in the county, particularly for sporting events.
“It breaks my heart,” Johnson said, noting that he grew up in Shenandoah County and played both basketball and football in school. “This is my community. I’ve gotten a lot of support.”
Contact Kaitlin Mayhew at 574-6290 or kmayhew@dnronline.com