Man explains in police interview why he attacked North Carolina State fraternity with gun :: WRAL.com

A new search warrant reveals more details about a man arrested at North Carolina State University in September for waving a gun in the air on Hillsborough Street.

Around 12:15 a.m. Monday, Sept. 9, North Carolina State Police said they received a report of a man waving a gun in the air near the Chipotle at 2316 Hillsborough St.

Student witnesses claimed the man asked students, “What is the ‘most raped’ fraternity on campus?” When the students asked him why, the man pulled a small black handgun from his waistband, waving it and saying he was “going to teach them a lesson,” the warrant states.

According to the police, the man left for the Fraternity Court.

After the incident was reported, a North Carolina State Police trooper spotted a man fitting the students’ description of the suspect and pulled him over along Thurman Drive.

The warrant states the man admitted to the officer that he was the one who asked about the frat house. He also said, “I have a gun.”

The police officer removed a loaded Ruger Max-9 from the man’s waistband along with a gun magazine and several loose rounds, according to the warrant.

Zachary Olson, 24, of Cary, was charged with felony carrying a handgun on educational property and misdemeanor carrying a concealed weapon.

Olson admitted he wanted to seek “vigilante justice” on college fraternity rapists, according to the warrant. When the officer asked him if he planned to kill people, he said “yes” and then changed his answer to “no,” the warrant says.

The warrant also describes an interview with Olson after his arrest.

In the interview, Olson told investigators that his ex-girlfriend was raped by a Clemson University fraternity member. Olson said his ex-girlfriend reported the rape to police, but decided not to pursue the investigation because she needed to tell her story.

In September, WRAL News reported that Olson told the students he stopped that he felt the pain of sexual assault victims and that he was “wrong and stupid.” Olson also said she had burned herself with matches to experience the pain of sexual assault victims.

Olson was studying law at Campbell University, but is no longer enrolled at the school, a university spokesman said. He previously worked in the Wake County District Attorney’s office, but no longer works there, according to Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

NC State also confirmed that Olson was not a student or employee.

According to state prosecutors, Olson had just purchased the gun a day earlier. From his car, the police seized an empty box of ammunition, documents citing the purchase of a firearm and a used blank.

If you are a victim of sexual assault, contact RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800-656-4673 or online.rainn.org. Wake County residents can call the InterAct Sexual Assault Hotline at 919-828-3005 or 866-291-0853 (toll-free).

For a complete county-by-county list of resources, click here.