CA: San Jose State University cops: Man hunted squirrels, birds on campus

06/27/2009

The squirrels and birds of San Jose State University faced an unpleasant surprise Saturday afternoon. Campus police received a report that a middle-aged man was hunting animals on university campus.

"We got a call from the library saying a man was shooting animals with a BB gun," said SJSU police Sgt. John Laws.

The university police immediately called the San Jose Police Department. Shortly after lunchtime, they found a man fitting the caller's description near the Spartan Complex, near the middle of campus, and detained him.

"Even a BB gun is quite realistic-looking,'' Laws said, "so we had to assume the gun he was carrying was real.'' Though carrying a BB gun on campus is not a crime, police said, hunting and disturbing the wildlife can be filed as an animal cruelty charge.

The officers took full precautions against the unidentified man with the weapon. One of the SJPD officers drew a rifle and pointed it at the man until police identified the weapon as a BB gun. The man was handcuffed and taken in for questioning. Within a few hours, the man was released but the investigation still continues, police said.

The man has been barred from returning to campus for the next two weeks. Police have kept the BB gun as evidence for further investigation.

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