Tip from passerby prevents ‘potential mass shooting’ after man kicked out of NC saloon, chief says

BOONE, N.C. (WYFF) - A man was arrested Tuesday after getting kicked out of a North Carolina saloon, preventing a “potential mass shooting,” according to the police chief.

Officials said the Watauga County 911 Emergency Communications Center got a call just after 12:30 p.m. about a man with a firearm outside of the Boone Saloon on West King Street.

When officers arrived, they found a man wearing a tactical-style vest, brandishing a shotgun, police said.

Officers were able to gain control of the man and take him into custody, officials said.

Peter Modiene Gabaree, 59, of Lenoir, had earlier been in Boone Saloon and was asked to leave the establishment, according to officials.

Once outside, Gabaree went to his vehicle and donned a tactical vest along with retrieving a shotgun, a handgun, and ammunition for both weapons.

Passersby saw these actions and immediately called 911, police said.

“I would like to commend our officers for their quick actions and preventing a potential mass shooting here in Boone,” police Chief Andy Le Beau said in a statement. “This was obviously a dangerous situation. We are grateful to the citizen who saw this suspicious activity and called us. Our officers interrupted a man who had put on a ballistic vest and was loading weapons in his car. I am thankful to Sergeant Scott Mackler and his patrol shift for their courage in confronting and taking into custody this armed individual to safeguard our community.”

Gabaree was charged with:

Going armed to the terror of the public (common law)
Resisting officers (misdemeanor)

Gabaree was taken before a Watauga County Magistrate, where a $10,000 secured bond was set, pending a December district court hearing, officials said.