Man polishing powder horn outside Lexington church prompts bizarre police response

Lexington police intervened Friday in a bizarre situation involving a man taking his semiquincentennial celebrations a little too seriously.

Shortly after 3 p.m., officers responded to a report of a shirtless man with a gun in the parking lot of Grace Chapel on Worthen Road. Several programs, some of which included children, were happening inside at the time, so they placed the building on lockdown, police said on Facebook.

Officers searched the church campus and found the suspect, who was waiting to pick up his wife from work at the chapel. As he waited, he was polishing a powder horn, which is a musket-era gunpowder container in the shape of a bull’s horn, according to police.

Police learned that the man is an “avid period reenactor” and was polishing the horn outside his vehicle due to the heat. Security video corroborated his account, police said.

The incident prompted a heavy police response, with multiple cruisers at the scene and parts of Worthen Road being closed. Despite concerns from the public, Lexington police made it clear that “there was no threat to anyone in the building or on the campus at the time of this incident.”

“It is understandable that this would cause a great deal of concern to members of the community, especially parents with children in these programs,” police said.