Army veteran with AR-15 stands guard outside Fort Wayne school
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – An armed Oath Keeper began watch outside North Side High School in Fort Wayne on Friday.
Mark Cowan, an Army veteran, said he was moved to do something following a school shooting in Florida that left 17 people dead and threats of violence at schools closer to home.
He found a spot off of school grounds but close enough to keep an eye on people going in and out of the high school. Armed with a handgun and an AR-15, Cowan told 24-Hour News 8’s sister station WANE that he is there to protect the students and ward off anyone who would pose a threat to their safety.
He has been in contact with police in the neighborhood and the school’s resource officer.
Cowan planned to keep watch until additional safety measures are put in place.
The Oath Keepers held court at Glenbrook Commons for more than a year, keeping watch of the armed forces recruiting center until safety improvements were made there.
Cowan has been in contact with other Oath Keepers who have talked about the possibility of protecting other schools.
After WANE reached out to Fort Wayne Community Schools for reaction, spokesperson Krista Stockman shared the following statement, saying that school officials do not believe Cowan’s presence adds to the safety of the students:
We take the security of our schools very seriously. We understand he has a right to be out there, but we do not believe it adds to the safety of our students. At North Side, as at all of our schools, we have security procedures in place. In addition, at North Side, we have armed police officers in the building every day.”