Witness: Man Threatens to Use Gun at Marion Library

Marion Public Library officials and police are looking into an incident in which a man was being verbally abusive to other patrons and one witness said threatened to get a gun and shoot someone on Monday afternoon.

Library director Doug Raber said they still haven't confirmed who the person is, but after speaking with witnesses, they don't believe the incident is as serious as it might sound.

"To be honest with you, the library is a public building and this is one of a number of verbal incidents we run into," Raber said. "This is one we need to pay attention to - more so than most - but ultimately this was not that out of the ordinary."

Marion Police did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

The incident occurred around 3 p.m. on Monday.

The man, who Raber said is "older," was working on a computer while waiting for older women he was with to finish at a meeting. The after school crowd of teens came in and were being noisy, as they often do, Raber said.

Library staff believe the man became angry, telling the kids to "shut up," started being loud, complaining and verbally abusive, Raber said.

As the man was exiting the library, a witness said he called out to no one in particular, "I'm going to come back with a gun and shoot you," Raber said.

It scared the person who reported the incident, Raber said, but the man was never violent and never directly threatened anyone. He also proceeded to wait outside by the car for his company, Raber said. The women sitting next to him at the computers, said he was just "blowing his stack."

"It was more of an anger management issue than anything really serious," he said.

Library officials reviewed security footage, but his face wasn't visible although they could make out his clothing. They checked on the license plate, and it was registered to a 22 year old, which clearly wasn't the older man, Raber said.

Raber said they haven't seen the man before or since.

The library is working with police to identify the man to determine who he is and if there is a reason for concern. And, at minimum, they can issue a warning to the man that such behavior isn't tolerated.

As for the noisy kids, Raber told the Gazette that it isn't a "shooshing library," and that he'd rather have the kids there than out on the streets.

The Gazette reported that a woman, who made a report to library staff, called police about four hours after the incident, shortly before Raber called police himself. The same woman's boyfriend called the newspaper, although she declined comment.

“I probably should have moved a little bit quicker,” Raber told the Gazette. “I was trying to gather all the information I possibly could, so I knew what was going on. I wanted to check surveillance cameras, check with staff and interview people to get an overall picture of what was going on.”