‘Suspicious’ man in camo with pit bulls arrested at Bellwood-Antis school

BLAIR COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Police were called to Bellwood-Antis High School for a man school officers said was acting suspiciously outside the building.

Bellwood police said they arrived just after 8:30 a.m. Friday, April 28, to find the man, later identified as 39-year-old Daniel Joseph Richardson of Altoona. He was allegedly wearing full camouflage, a red beret and had two pit bulls with him that weren’t on leashes.

Richardson told police he was “special ops” and was assigned to find a fiber optic line, according to charges filed. Police noted that he also appeared agitated and asked officers if they were willing to die for their country.

Police noted that they called for an ambulance, suspecting his actions were a medical issue. While speaking with Richardson, police said he got loud and exclaimed that people with guns shoot up schools before asking if they were going to shoot him.

Richardson tried to square up with an officer and asked “You wanna go?” before police tried to detain him, the criminal complaint reads. He then allegedly resisted being put in handcuffs and was taken to the ground before trying to get his hands on an officer’s gun. He was ultimately taken to UPMC Altoona for evaluation.

During the incident, the school was on a soft lockdown, according to the student-run BA Blueprint .

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Richardson was arraigned Monday morning, May 6, on disarming law enforcement, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest charges. He was placed in Blair County Prison with bail set at $100,000.

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