A longtime security guard at Olsen Middle School in Dania Beach was arrested on the first day of school after an anonymous tip led deputies to find a gun in his SUV, according to an arrest report.
Nathaniel Strowbridge, 57, of Pompano Beach, was charged Wednesday with bringing a firearm on campus, a felony. He is being held in Broward’s main jail on a $10,000 bond.
According to Strowbridge’s arrest report, a tip came in to the Special Investigative Unit reporting that Strowbridge carries a firearm on campus and “they don’t believe he is stable.”
At first, according to the report, Strowbridge denied having a firearm.
“Strowbridge later changed his story and admitted that he had a firearm in his personal vehicle which was parked in the designated school parking lot,” a deputy wrote in the report.
Deputies used a search warrant to search Strowbridge’s silver 2016 Nissan Rogue. They found a Taurus .45 Caliber pistol on the passenger front floorboard.
Strowbridge was arrested and taken to Broward County Main Jail in Fort Lauderdale where he is being held on $10,000 bail.
Florida allows districts to prohibit weapons in vehicles on school campuses through an exception of the law. In 2001, the Broward School District adopted a policy to prohibit the possession of any firearms in vehicles on campus.
According to the district, Strowbridge, who began his career with Broward schools as a temporary security specialist at Coconut Creek High School in 1994, joined Olsen Middle as a security specialist in 1997.
He has been removed from the school pending termination, the district said.
