North Syracuse man arrested after handgun found at McNamara Elementary School

A loaded handgun fell out of a North Syracuse man’s waistband in the parking lot of Catherine M. McNamara Elementary School in Baldwinsville, prompting a lockout and a rapid response from school security and sheriff’s deputies at a campus that serves hundreds of young students.

The man was identified in local reporting as Brian C. Gould, 41, of North Syracuse. According to those reports, Gould had the handgun with him when he got out of his vehicle in the school parking lot, and a staff member saw him pick up the gun and alerted the School Resource Officer. The School Resource Officer and road patrol responded at about 12:02 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.

The Baldwinsville Central School District said the building was placed into lockout after a report of a suspicious individual outside the school. The district later said the lockout was lifted and normal operations resumed inside the building. It also said a substitute teacher reported that a weapon was observed on school grounds. The sequence put the focus squarely on how quickly school staff, the School Resource Officer and law enforcement moved once the weapon was reported.

McNamara Elementary, at 7344 O’Brien Road in Baldwinsville, serves grades PK-5 and has roughly 494 to 507 students, according to public school directory data. The campus is part of the Baldwinsville Central School District, a detail that underscores why any weapons case on school property draws immediate attention from parents across Onondaga County.

The Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office arrested Gould after the handgun was found, but officials have not released further details on charges or motive. Even so, the case is likely to renew questions about parking-lot security, staff notification procedures and how quickly school buildings can be secured when a weapon is seen near an elementary campus.

The concern at McNamara is not abstract. The school was also the site of a stabbing in 2021, an earlier security incident that remains part of the district’s safety history. Wednesday’s episode, unfolding in daylight at the edge of the building, will likely sharpen scrutiny of how Baldwinsville schools monitor arrivals, respond to suspicious activity and communicate with families when a threat is reported.