A Florida softball coach, Christopher Nicholsen, was holding a practice on Tuesday, February 5, when something worrying took place. Other parents began saying that there was a teenager with a gun. Alongside other parents, Nicholsen then found 13-year-old Jiovanni Peguero. In a maneuver following an apparent attempt to draw a gun, Nicholsen disarmed Peguero, who was later arrested.
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Gulf Coast News was able to talk with Nicholsen, who was able to disarm Peguero after the latter allegedly had been threatening other children with the gun beforehand.
"One of the parents had come to the fence line and started yelling, there's a there's a kid at the playground with a gun," Nicholsen told the outlet. Nicholsen and other parents eventually found Peguero, as he matched the description of a teen wearing a red and black striped shirt.
A parent then began questioning Peguero, asking if he had a gun. Peguero answered by saying he only had a BB gun. However, when Peguero withdrew and raised his shirt, Nicholsen immediately knew that that was no BB gun.
"I immediately recognized it as a firearm, actually, one that I owned myself personally," Nicholsen said. So, heroically, he decided to intervene, as Peguero lowered his hand toward his waistband, according to Nicholsen.
"It was a flight or flight response at that point in time," Nicholsen continued. "I proceeded to basically block his hand away and get kind of control of the firearm."
Arrested And Charged
Christopher Nicholsen disarmed Peguero and other parents held Peguero until Cape Coral Police officers arrived. The police department revealed that they had received prior reports of a teen with a gun. Peguero allegedly held another child at gunpoint before stealing his scooter. The child contacted his family, and they contacted the police afterward.
Additionally, another report received by the Cape Coral Police Department detailed a child being threatened with a gun at Burton Park. A police investigation determined that both incidents were connected and that Peguero's guardian's gun was missing.
Lisa Greenberg, a public information officer for the Cape Coral Police Department said that this "whole situation is very sad." "As a family member of this particular suspect, it's also cited as a community to hear that someone this young is involved in crimes like this," Greenberg said.
Jiovanni Peguero was taken into custody. According to FOX 4 Now, he was charged with robbery with a firearm, minor in session of a firearm, improper exhibition of a firearm, and two counts of aggravated assault.
