Police Arrest Man Who Brought BB Gun to Two Hopkins Schools

Police arrested an 18-year-old man after he brought a BB gun to the Off Campus Pavilion Alternative Program and the , according to court documents released Wednesday.

Prosecutors have charged Peter Anatoli Clarke, of Minnetonka, with displaying a BB gun on school property and possessing a BB gun on school property.

Hopkins officers went to the on Monday following a report of a male with a gun, Detective Raymond Laudenbach wrote in the charging documents. Two students told police they heard Clarke say he was going harm a student. As he said this, one of the students saw him lift his shirt to display what appeared to be a handgun in his waistband.

She “promptly advised a school employee of the incident,” according to the documents.

Officers located Clarke biking near his home and found a BB gun that resembled a handgun in his waistband. The gun was loaded with BBs, and its CO2 cartridge was charged. 

Clarke told officers he went to the Main Street School of Performing Arts to speak with his ex-girlfriend and then went to the Pavilion school, where he showed his BB gun to three people and asked whether someone he was looking for went to that school, according to court documents. He told officers “he would definitely fight” that person if he saw him in public.

Clarks said he carried the BB gun with him for protection because he’d been robbed a week or two ago.

He is currently being held in Hennepin County jail on $5,000 bail.

Displaying a BB gun on school property is a gross misdemeanor that carries a penalty of up to one year in jail and a $3,000 fine. Possessing a BB gun on school property is a misdemeanor with a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.

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