VA National Guard Member Runs Near Schools W/ Rifle, Arrested - WRIC Richmond News and Weather -

VA National Guard Member Runs Near Schools W/ Rifle, Arrested

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William Alemar (Photo courtesy of West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority) William Alemar (Photo courtesy of West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority)

MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - A West Virginia man arrested while running in camouflage with a training rifle belongs to the Virginia National Guard and served in Iraq.

Stephen Alemar tells the Hagerstown Herald-Mail (http://bit.ly/NX9xRG) he believes his 23-year-old son, William Alemar, was just trying to stay in shape for his next military assignment.

William Alemar was charged with committing a terrorist act Monday after police found him running near two Martinsburg schools. He was carrying knives and ammunition clips, and wearing a bulletproof vest.

His father says Alemar returned in December from Iraq, where he served with a special forces unit.

He'd graduated from Massanutten Military Academy in Woodstock, Va., and joined the guard after failing to get into the U.S. Naval Academy.

Army spokesman Ray Gall confirms that Alemar enlisted in January 2007.

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