An armed man who was arrested after sparking fear at a Missouri Walmart by carrying a loaded rifle Thursday has been identified by police.
Dmitriy Andreychenko, 20, was arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat, Springfield police said Friday.
Mr. Andreychenko caused chaos after he was seen filming himself pushing a cart in the Walmart wearing body armor and military fatigues, carrying a “tactical rifle,” another gun and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.
A manager of the Walmart pulled the fire alarm to evacuate the building and shouted at people to flee the store. The gun-carrying man was held by gunpoint by an off-duty firefighter until police arrived and arrested him.
While no shots were fired and no one was injured, Springfield Police Lt. Mike Lucas said his goal was to “cause chaos.”
“His intent was not to cause peace or comfort to anybody that was in the business here,” Lt. Lucas said to reporters at the scene. “In fact, he’s lucky he’s alive still, to be honest.”
Missouri is an open-carry state but citizens are not allowed to carry guns in a threatening manner.
Mr. Andreychenko’s display comes less than a week after a gunman at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart killed 22 people and injured dozens more.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.