Carson City Bus driver allowed man on bus to ‘teach student a lesson’ by threatening him with gun

UPDATE: Pop Warner reached out to Carson Now to state that Baxter is not affiliated with or a representative of Pop Warner, that he has not been a coach or officially associated with the Pop Warner league of Carson City. We apologize for any confusion.

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54-year-old Michael Baxter was arrested Thursday night after allegedly entering a school bus while armed, and falsely imprisoning and threatening a 9-year-old child.

New details have emerged thanks to the police report.

According to the report, deputies spoke to the bus driver, who said he allowed Baxter onto the bus because he knew Baxter from Pop Warner Football. Carson City Pop Warner Football says that Baxter has no affiliation with the organization.

On video obtained from the bus, Baxter got onto the bus and started yelling at the elementary school aged children for being disrespectful.

Baxter had been following the bus when one of the children flipped him off.

When he got onto the bus, Baxter stood at the front and “demanded to know who flipped him off.”

A 9-year-old student raised his hand and approached Baxter at the front of the bus.

Baxter then asked the child, “What are you doing? Do you want to get your head caved in?”

Baxter began to lecture the child about his actions and would not allow the child to exit the bus. Baxter reached to his right hip and said, “You see this? This is a gun!”

Deputies stated that on the tape it is unclear whether or not Baxter actually had a gun in his holster.

He then told the student that he doesn’t know how dangerous people can be, and said, “People shoot people for those kind of things.”

The child then began to cry, and Baxter and the bus driver both continued to lecture the child about being respectful, and tried to calm him down.

Baxter then told the other children to have a good day, and allowed them to leave the bus.

The Bus Driver

When deputies spoke to the bus driver, he told deputies that the student is a “constant problem” and he “was okay with the situation because he knew (Baxter) from Pop Warner.”

The driver said it was a life lesson and they were “only trying to help” the student.

The driver said that “If (Baxter) did have a gun, then that was a problem,” but stated he had no idea if he had a gun.

The driver said he heard Baxter talking about a gun, and he looked down at Michael’s hip, but he only saw a “knife pouch and a gun holster.”

The driver stated he “would never drive a bus again.”

The 9-year-old student

Deputies spoke with the child, who said that he and his cousins had been sitting at the back of the bus. He said his cousin told him to flip off the car behind them, and if he didn’t, he would tackle him.

The child flipped off Baxter, and when the bus came to a stop at the school, Baxter got onto the bus.

The child said that Baxter told him he had a gun and showed him a “brown pouch” on his hip where he said the gun was located.

He said he believed Baxter had a gun and would shoot him if he was disrespectful again.

He told deputies that the only people allowed on the bus are kids, the bus driver, and parents, and that other people are not allowed.

He said he was shocked that the bus driver didn’t make Baxter leave, and that made him scared.

While the child told deputies what had occurred, he became frightened again and started to cry.

Deputies stated that it was clear the child was scared for his life, and truly believed Baxter was going to shoot him.

Baxter

When deputies spoke to Baxter, he stated he saw the child flip him off and he followed the bus with his three-year-old grandson inside of his truck. He said he had a holster on his hip and his hand gun was in-between his truck seat.

He said he approached and spoke to the bus driver, who pointed out the child to him.

He said he told the child he had a holster and that is what carried guns. He said he lectured the child about life and “had a good conversation with him.”

Deputies then showed Baxter the video, proving that he had not spoken about his holster, but had repeatedly said he was carrying a gun and wears a gun everyday.

Baxter kept trying to say he thought he was saying he had a holster before finally admitting he told the child he had a gun.

He stated that he did not have his gun, only an empty holster. He said he “was not stupid” and “knows you can’t have a gun on school grounds.”

Baxter told deputies he was only going to talk to the driver and didn’t intend to go on the bus.

He said he wanted to “teach the kid because the kid’s parents clearly weren’t teaching him he right way.” He said he wasn’t trying to scare him.

After deputies told Baxter that the child feared for his life because of him, Baxter stated he would not do the same thing over.

He said he “should not have done that because of the situation he was in now,” according to the report.

Baxter admitted he told the child that he had a gun and explained he could get shot by keeping up his behavior.

When asked what Baxter would say to the child’s mother, Baxter said he would say sorry and he was only trying to teach him.

Deputies took Baxter into custody and booked him for false imprisonment, unlawful contact with a minor, and threatening a student.

All information for this report comes directly from the Police Report or quoted from law enforcement officials.