Photo by Dan Whisenhunt

Decatur Police arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with an incident that occurred at Oakhurst Elementary School on Aug. 4.

Lt. Jennifer Ross said Erek Frye of Decatur turned himself in on misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and pointing a pistol at another, and a felony charge of carrying a weapon in a school safety zone. Frye is accused of pointing a gun at two men who had gone to Oakhurst Elementary School to sell shoes, a transaction arranged using a “buy/sell app.”

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The men told officers they considered the school “a safe place” to complete the transaction, Ross said.

“They initially met with the potential buyers, two males, behind the school but were worried the transaction was not legitimate and left,” Ross said. “The two males contacted them back and asked that they return to sell the shoes. They met with one of the potential customers near the adjacent playground but he did not have enough money to pay the agreed upon price.”

The second man “suddenly appeared from behind the school” and fired a gun at the victims, who ran to their vehicle. The suspects fled toward Feld Avenue. No one was seriously hurt, but one victim scraped his thigh after he fell down while trying to run away.

The other man who was allegedly with Frye was not charged, Ross said, because, “He was not a party to the reckless conduct, pointing a pistol at another and carrying a weapon in a school safety zone.”

Ross said police do not believe the suspect or the other person who was with him at Oakhurst Elementary were involved in an attempted robbery that occurred later in the evening of Aug. 4.

“Investigators do not believe the two incidents were related at this time,” Ross said.

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