A 32-year-old man was charged Monday with allegedly pointing a weapon at a school administrator while students and parents were present during morning school drop-off at Larchmont Charter Elementary School in West Hollywood.
Vahe Armen is charged with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon or by means likely to cause great bodily injury on a school employee and one count of weapons on a school grounds. In a separate incident on Oct. 24, he is charged with one count of an assault on an elderly person and one count of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced.
Armen faces special allegations on all counts.
"In an era plagued by an epidemic of mass shootings at schools across our nation, every parent in America faces an unimaginable fear when they send their children to school," Gascón said in a statement.
"It is an unfair burden that no parent should bear. We must prioritize the safety and well-being of our community, particularly our children. They deserve nothing less than a nurturing environment free from the threat of violence."
Armen is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Airport Branch.
On Thursday, shortly after 8 a.m., Armen allegedly drove onto the Larchmont Charter Elementary School campus in the school drop-off area as students were arriving to school. A school administrator, who was standing in front of the school, directing traffic and assisting students, allegedly saw Armen exit his vehicle from a distance and point what looked like an assault- style rifle at her, prosecutors said.
The administrator quickly began to usher the students into the school's building when Armen allegedly got back into his vehicle and drove away.
Prosecutors said Armen was found on the 6800 block of Sunset Boulevard and arrested by deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Deputies also allegedly located a weapon in Armen's vehicle.
Armen is being held on $5 million bail.
If convicted as charged, Armen would face up to seven years, four months in state prison, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Armen's hometown was not immediately available.
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