A girl at a memorial outside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. (Dylan Stableford/Yahoo!)

A man carrying a two-by-four that was labeled "High Powered Rifle" was arrested at Sandy Hook Elementary School in northern Virginia on Wednesday, five days after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history.

According to NBC Washington, the Shenandoah County Sheriff's Office said the 33-year-old man, Christopher Johnson, was "met" by the Strasburg school's staff at 11:40 a.m. before being detained by a resource officer stationed at the school. Johnson was then arrested and taken into custody without incident, police said.

A police spokesman said he was not sure why Johnson entered the school, but said it appeared the man was attempting to deliver a message "related to school safety."

Johnson was charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor, and given a Dec. 28 court date.

There have been reports of other arrests in the wake of the massacre in Newtown. Security has been increased at schools nationwide, and police and parents have been, understandably, on edge.

(Screen shot of the New York Daily News home page on Dec. 20)

NEW YORK—More than 32,000 people have signed an online petition sponsored by the New York Daily News calling for a ban on assault weapons.

Launched in the wake of last week’s deadly school shootings in Newtown, Conn., the petition urges Congress to “immediately ban all assault weapons and high-capacity magazines” and pass new gun-control measures.

"Thirty-four Americans are killed every day by firearms,” the petition, which also ran in the print edition of the Daily News, reads. “The total killed in just six months is equal to all American combat deaths over the entire length of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.”

This year's severe drought in the U.S. may have wiped out corn and wheat crops, but people fond of live Christmas trees don't have to worry about the dry season's effects this holiday season or for years to come.

"Farm trees harvested this year aren't impacted at all," said Rick Dungey, the National Christmas Tree Association's spokesman. "The trees have been in the ground for a number of years, and they have established a good root system and are less susceptible to weather changes."

Data from the Palmer Drought Severity Index show 54.6 percent of the contiguous 48 states were in severe drought. According to a National Climatic Data Center report, it was the 10th-most severe drought since 1895.

Dungey said since it takes conifers several years to grow to sizes customers want—between 5 feet to 9 feet—tree growers can manage crops over several seasons, accounting for damage done by the 2012 drought's scorching heat and dry conditions.