Armed men stand guard at recruitment center

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Three armed military veterans stood guard outside of the Wilmington Armed Forces Career Center today.

They were there from open until close to make the workers inside feel safe after the deadly shooting in Chattanooga last week.

Employees at the Career Center are not allowed to have weapons, so the group says they’re doing this to protect their military brothers and sisters inside. And they are doing it all for free.

“We’ve been out here all day,” said Ronnie Schille, a non-active Lance Cpl. in the Marine Corps. “Heads on a swivel. Looking here, looking there. Haven’t seen anything suspicious today and we probably won’t but it’s the fact that we are trying and we want people to be aware of your surroundings and always just keep your head on a swivel.”

The three men are from different branches of the military. They’re looking for more volunteers to help protect the recruitment center.

They say they plan to have someone outside until laws allow employees of the recruitment center to bear arms.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story referred to the men as military personnel, which has apparently created some confusion about their current status in the armed forces. It is our understanding that they are not active members, so we have updated the use of personnel to veterans to try and clear up any confusion.