GLIDDEN, Iowa — [KCCI] – Carroll County Sheriff Kenneth Pingrey didn’t hold back in his message to the public after his department responded to multiple calls about a man carrying a backpack and walking around in Glidden “carrying what appeared to be an AR-style rifle.”

According to a news release, deputies who responded to the calls Thursday afternoon on the town’s south side found 38-year-old Jerry Lee Webb Jr., of  Kansas City, Missouri, in possession of a “loaded 12-gauge shotgun that looked similar to an AR-style rifle.”

Jerry Webb

Webb, also allegedly had a loaded 9mm pistol in a backpack that he left at the NEW Cooperative. Webb was arrested on a no-contact order violation unrelated to the initial calls Thursday, but that charge was dropped for lack of probable cause, according to court documents.

An investigation involving out-of-state law enforcement as well as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues.

Sheriff Pingrey said in the news release, “The mere fact that Webb was in possession of two loaded, uncased weapons is not a crime under Iowa laws. It is, however, extremely stupid to walk around town carrying firearms in this fashion. This will not only spark fear in a community, and rightfully so, but will also generate a vigorous response from law enforcement.”

Pingrey concluded by saying “I am a huge proponent of the Second Amendment and the NRA but I firmly believe in safe and responsible gun ownership, this was neither safe nor responsible.”