OKC Man Caught On Camera, Accused Of Pointing An AR-15 At Construction Crews

Police seized a man's AR-15 on Thursday and booked him in the Canadian County jail on three counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.

Joshua Baptiste was accused of pointing the weapon at construction crews in his far west Oklahoma City neighborhood.

Work in the neighborhood near West Reno Avenue and Cemetery Road came to a halt after Baptiste backed into a concrete truck. Police said Baptiste became angry and drove around the block a few times.

Crews reported he also yelled racist comments at them.  

“(He) made some remark about the language barrier and they needed to do better at learning English,” said Master Sgt. Gary Knight, Oklahoma City Police Department.  

Baptiste also reportedly yelled at them to leave the neighborhood. He then drove home and parked in the driveway, but this time, Baptiste's behavior took a dangerous turn.

“He apparently lived in a nearby residence, went in and retrieved a rifle,” said Knight. “(He) came out with the rifle at least one time, put it on his shoulder and pointed it at them.”

One of the men working recorded Baptiste's actions and showed responding officers the video. The officer noted in the report there was a second video of Baptiste loading what appeared to be an AR-15 in the backseat of his pickup.

Some of the crews stopped working and hid behind trucks for cover.

“The people on the other end of that, the concrete crew believed they were about to be shot,” said Knight. “It was a very upsetting, very frightening thing for them obviously,”

Police said Baptiste left his home after the incident but was pulled over on a traffic stop. Crews identified him as the man who pulled the gun on them. Officers were allowed to search the man's home and found an unloaded AR-15.

Baptiste has not been formally charged by the Canadian County district attorney’s office.