An 18-year-old Randolph man is facing felony charges after he allegedly threatened a student with his vehicle and pointed a pistol in the air during South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School's prom Thursday evening, sending police scrambling across two towns before his arrest later that night.
Adrian Arroyo was not a student at South Shore Tech but had attended the prom at Indian Pond Country Club, located at 60 Country Club Way in Kingston, because of a prior relationship with one of the attendees. Around 7:15 p.m., a verbal argument escalated in the parking lot, where Arroyo was joined by two female attendees.
Police say Arroyo threatened to strike a student with his vehicle, then produced a black semi-automatic style pistol, pointed it into the air, and appeared to rack the weapon — a motion consistent with loading a round into the chamber. He then drove off before officers reached the parking lot.
An on-site detail officer had already called for backup. Patrol units arrived, canvassed the area, conducted multiple witness interviews, and issued a regional law enforcement bulletin identifying Arroyo and his vehicle. Officers maintained an increased police presence at the prom for the remainder of the event.
"For the students who knew this individual, they were very brave and action oriented, promptly letting us know what happened in the parking lot. It allowed us to get support from Kingston Police," said Tom Hickey, Superintendent-Director of South Shore Regional Vocational Technical High School. "For our other prom attendees, I’m happy to report that the event continued without any disruption and our students and their guests had a wonderful time."
Randolph Police located Arroyo at his residence, where officers surrounded the home. He surrendered peacefully and was transferred to Kingston Police custody.
At the same time, Kingston detectives were working to obtain a court-authorized search warrant for the Randolph home. Based on witness accounts and a review of surveillance video, investigators believed Arroyo may have stashed the weapon in a second vehicle on the property.
When they executed the warrant, they found a black pistol in the glovebox, which turned out to be a Crossman BB gun replica, consistent with descriptions provided by victims.
No injuries were reported at any point during the incident.
Arroyo is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning at Plymouth District Court on multiple felony charges, including assault with a dangerous weapon. The case has been turned over to the Plymouth County District Attorney's Office for prosecution.
"I’m grateful for the support of the Kingston Police, the attentiveness of our staff in attendance and the partnership with the Indian Pond Country Club," said Hickey.