A man threatened to ?shoot everybody? at a polling place in Washington County Tuesday after poll workers told him he could not vote because he was not registered, Washington County Director of Elections Larry Spahr said.
He said Christopher T. Queen, 48, became irate at the South Franklin Fire Hall on Jolly School Road around 8 a.m. after workers discovered he was not registered to vote.
His registration was canceled in July after election officials were notified he?d moved out of the county, Mr. Spahr said. His online court paperwork, however, indicates he lives in Claysville.
?He said he was going to go get a gun and shoot everybody and then he was going to come up here to the elections office,? Mr. Spahr said. ?And as a result of that, the sheriff came down and said, ?Get that door locked, don?t answer it for anyone you don?t know.??
The sheriff also faxed over a picture of Mr. Queen so election officials could be on alert, Mr. Spahr said.
Election officials notified both the county sheriff and Pennsylvania State Police about the threat, he said. About an hour after the threat was made, police notified Mr. Spahr that they had ?picked up? Mr. Queen, Mr. Spahr said.
Court records show Mr. Queen was charged Tuesday with making threats and disorderly conduct. He threatened to ?get a gun and then return and ?shoot up? the polling station,? according to the criminal complaint.
He then quickly left after making the threats and was later located at 224 Old Scales Road in South Franklin Township, according to the complaint.
Mr. Spahr said the polling place remains open and voting is continuing as normal. He added that he?s not experienced a threat like this in 38 years on the job, although he has seen trouble between people working for campaigns at the polls.
?You just don?t know anymore, today,? he said.
