A University of Memphis senior is being held in Shelby County Jail this afternoon for carrying a handgun and three daggers onto school grounds.
Rashawn Ahmed Lee, 27, had been talking to two officers working the University Bookstore around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when the student abruptly walked away, leaving behind the gray backpack containing a .40 caliber black Beretta Px4 Storm loaded with a 14-round magazine, an affidavit said. The bag also contained a second magazine with 11 bullets.
Two university officers tried to return the student's backpack before finding a blue handgun case tucked into the bag.
They found Lee a few hundred yards away on the west side of the University Center. Three 5-inch throwing daggers were also found in a pouch on his right hip.
No shots were ever fired.
Lee is charged with two felony counts of carrying a weapon on school property. His bond has been set at $1,500.
In 2008, Lee faced similar charges when he was detained from an ExxonMobil at 1369 Sycamore View for unlawful possession of a weapon, a 9mm handgun and a letter opener filed to a point. Court documents report Lee as being "in a highly confused state of mind ... going from one subject to another."
The Bartlett resident was diagnosed as bi-polar and off his medications, the affidavit said. He was never prosecuted.
