A Dubuque man was arrested with what turned out to be an empty handgun while he was inside a Dubuque elementary school.
A Dubuque police resource officer was requested to come to Audubon Elementary on Lincoln Avenue around 3:20 yesterday afternoon to assist in a parental custody issue.
Authorities say 39-year-old John McGee had arrived several minutes after classes were dismissed and was allowed into the building by a staff member. The resource officer observed a bulge in McGee’s shirt just above his waistline and recognized the shape to be consistent with a handgun. The officer disarmed McGee without incident and he was placed under arrest.
The firearm was found to be an unloaded .40 caliber semiautomatic handgun. McGee is charged with carrying weapons on school grounds and is being held in the Dubuque County Jail.