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Charges: North Mankato man pointed gun at girls playing on lawn

The girls said they were playing in the backyard of their home when their neighbor allegedly came outside and pointed a gun at them, threatening to shoot them if they didn't stop playing in his lawn.
Scott Johnston (Credit: Nicollet County Jail)

NORTH MANKATO, Minn. - A North Mankato man faces felony charges after allegedly using a shotgun to threaten kids who he believed were playing in his lawn.

Scott Johnston, 59, faces two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of making a terroristic threat.

Just before 8 p.m. on Aug. 10, Nicollet County received a 911 call reporting a man threatened two girls outside a home in North Mankato. Police responded to the home and spoke with a witness who explained that two of his family members, girls ages 8 and 9, said they had a gun pointed at them by a neighbor. The girls said they were playing in the backyard of their home when their neighbor, Johnston, allegedly came outside and pointed a long, black gun at them, threatening to shoot them if they didn't stop playing in his lawn, the complaint states.

Police attempted to make contact with Johnston, however, he would not respond to yelling outside and phone calls to his home. Finally, just before midnight, Johnston came outside the home and was arrested.

During an interview with police, Johnston recalled exiting his home to smoke a cigarette and said he saw two boys running through his yard. He said he told them not to run through his yard and saw them run back into a neighboring house. According to the complaint, Johnston did not recall anything else about the evening and admitted he had consumed alcohol that night and "had a good buzz going."

During a search of Johnston's home, investigators found a Remington Magnum 20 gauge shotgun under his bed. It did not have a shell in the chamber but the magazine was loaded, charges state.

Johnston admitted he owned the gun and keeps it loaded, but denied pointing the shotgun at anyone that night, the complaint states.

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