Pennsylvania school crossing guard agrees to stop carrying pistol at work

A school crossing guard in Pennsylvania said this week that he would stop carrying a pistol on the job because he didn't want to be perceived as a "monster."

Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School last year, 52-year-old Scott Becker has taken it upon himself to bring his .40 caliber Smith and Wesson to work in Bethlehem, where he has been employed as a school crossing guard for eight years.

But on Monday, Becker's boss asked him to stop carrying the handgun after someone snapped a photo and posted it to Facebook.

"Usually I have it on me, but he asked this morning to take it off while crossing the kids, and I have no problem with it," Becker told WPVI. "I don't want to cause grief for anybody. I'm not out to be the monster or anything. I'm just out to do my job."

After seeing the photo of Becker wearing the holstered weapon while holding a stop sign for kids making their way to school, police in Bethlehem promised to investigate. But Becker said that he had a permit and thought the firearm might come in handy.

"That way I would be here as the first person to respond," he explained. "I would be here right away before someone else could respond."

Becker said that he would continue to wear his pistol while working at his other jobs, including at a laundromat.

"I have a business to take care of too so I want to work with that to and protect myself," he said.

Watch this video from WPVI, broadcast June 3, 2013.