The footage captures officers questioning Maria Howard after a family said she pointed what appeared to be a gun toward them.
YUKON, Okla. — Police body-camera footage has added new detail to the arrest of a Yukon woman who faces three felony counts after a family accused her of pointing what appeared to be a gun during their son’s driving lesson.
The footage shows officers interacting with 61-year-old Maria Howard after the Sept. 19 confrontation near Redstone Intermediate School. Police later identified the object involved as a BB gun or air gun. Howard is accused of pointing it toward Jacon and Jennifer Higdon and their son after an argument developed while the teenager was practicing driving and parking.
In the body-camera recording, an officer asked Howard why she had been shooting the gun. Howard replied that she had not been shooting at anyone. The exchange provides Howard’s recorded response to part of the police account but does not settle the disputed circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Higdons told officers they were at the school at about 6 p.m. so their son could practice behind the wheel. They said Howard began yelling and swearing from the back porch of a nearby home facing the school parking lot. They later told police she pointed what appeared to be a gun toward them.
Responding officers determined the object was a BB gun. Police also alleged Howard was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Body-camera footage from the arrest shows a tense interaction between Howard and officers, including an exchange in which police referred to BBs being fired from the back of the property while a child was learning to drive.
The release of the footage provides a closer look at the police response but does not change the legal status of the allegations. Statements by officers, witnesses and Howard remain part of an unresolved criminal case, and the available reports do not indicate that a court has made findings about what occurred.
Howard faces three felony counts described in reporting as assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, feloniously pointing a firearm and carrying a firearm while under the influence. Those counts are accusations, and Howard is presumed innocent unless proven guilty through the court process.
The incident drew attention because it began with a routine family activity in a school parking lot and ended with an arrest involving an object that witnesses initially believed was a firearm. Police later classified the object as a BB gun or air gun, a distinction established after officers responded.
No physical injuries to the family were reported in the coverage reviewed. The latest reporting continued to list Howard as facing the three felony counts, with no final disposition of the criminal case reported.
Author note: Last updated October 9, 2026.