BILLINGS — The view of Broadwater Elementary School is blocked, and cyclone fencing is in place for the children.
This is after the school administration spotted Gabriel Metcalf with his gun outside his home last Friday.
Watch Gabriel Metcalf story here:
Parents and students are seeing a big change to the campus with visual barriers all around the school.
It's all designed to block the view of a man across the street who has been seen carrying a gun.
Gabriel Metcalf has become a topic of conversation for residents of Billings in recent weeks.
He has been seen standing outside his home with a rifle directly across from Broadwater Elementary.
Some say unusual, but there's something he says he wants everyone to know.
“I am not a threat,”Metcalf said. “I have no ill will, no bad intentions. ”
Over the past few days, Metcalf says parents, even the school superintendent, have asked him to stop.
“I'm not menacing anyone,” Metcalf said.
Some posted on social media that his presence with a gun can be alarming to parents and children.
“Well, I think that everyone has their own opinion,” Metcalf said. “I think that some people are pushing a narrative. ”
Metcalf says there are two reasons he patrols outside his home.
First, as he did last Friday, to make a statement about his constitutional rights.
“I may exercise my 2nd Amendment right and my natural right to self-defense,” Metcalf said.
The second reason is deeply personal.
In February of last year, a woman broke into the family's home and violently attacked his mother, Vivian.
“Then when she had me on the ground, she was screaming, ‘I'm going to kill you,’” said Vivian Young, Metcalf’s mother.
That woman, 43-year-old Michelle Tibbetts, was sentenced just this week to five years in prison for aggravated burglary.
“There is a need for security and protection, and I have assumed the responsibility,” said Metcalf.
Metcalf resumed patrolling with the rifle last Friday as Tibbetts's sentencing approached.
Meanwhile, School District 2 is responding.
In addition to the visual barrier, the school has increased its law enforcement presence and changed its pickup and drop-off protocols, changes Metcalf maintains are unnecessary.
“My only concern for the school is their safety and health and well-being,” Metcalf said.
