Man Armed With Tactical Rifle Arrested After Inciting Panic in Walmart
Police arrested an armed man who walked into a Springfield, Missouri, Walmart Thursday evening and stirred up panic in the store.
An off-duty firefighter detained the young man at gunpoint. The young man—identified as 20-year-old Dmitriy Andreychenko—was dressed in body armor and fatigues and carried a tactical rifle, a handgun and over 100 rounds of ammunition, according to KYTV.
Just last week, another young man named Patrick Crusius entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and opened fire. He killed 22 people and injured dozens more. The next day, a gunman killed nine people in downtown Dayton, Ohio.
Those horrific mass shootings are still in people’s minds, says Springfield Police Lt. Mike Lucas. So even though Andreychenko didn’t open fire, it’s no wonder his heavy artillery incited a panic in the crowd.
Witness Julie Belew says she heard someone at the store say, “‘Is that a real rifle? Is that a real rifle?’ So I looked up and I saw the person to my left was holding a gun.”
Police have not disclosed any motive Andreychenko could have had for entering the store. Witnesses report seeing Andreychenko recording himself on his phone while pushing a cart through the store.
“His intent was not to cause comfort or peace to anybody that was in the business here,” Lucas says. “In fact, he’s lucky to be alive still, to be honest.”
