Heavily Armed Man Arrested at Missouri Walmart

Police in Springfield trying to figure out his intent
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 9, 2019 12:34 AM CDT
Updated Aug 9, 2019 6:30 AM CDT
Another Walmart Has Scary Moment With Armed Man
Springfield police respond to a Walmart in Springfield, Mo., Thursday afternoon, Aug. 8, 2019, after reports of a man with a weapon in the store.   (Harrison Keegan/The Springfield News-Leader via AP)

Less than a week after the massacre at a Walmart in El Paso, a heavily armed man caused quite a scare at a Walmart in Missouri. This time, no shots were fired. Police in Springfield arrested an unidentified 20-year-old man who strode into the store about 4pm Thursday wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying a tactical rifle, another gun, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, reports the Springfield News-Leader. Why he did so remains unclear, but “his intent obviously was to cause chaos here, and he did that,” says Lt. Mike Lucas. "He's lucky he's alive still, to be honest." Police say the man began pushing a cart around the store and appeared to be filming on his phone as he did so, reports KY3.

A store manager pulled an alarm urging people to evacuate, and panicked shoppers did exactly that, per the AP. The man himself went out an emergency exit, only to be detained at gunpoint by an off-duty firefighter, say police. By then, officers had arrived and took the man into custody. They have not released any further details about what the man might have told them, nor have they specified what charges he may face. Authorities say they will examine the man's social media posts to see if he was live-streaming. (In El Paso, the gunman's mother called police weeks before the attack, worried about his new rifle.)

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