An off-duty firefighter who was carrying a gun held a suspect who arrived at a Missouri Walmart in body armor and armed with a rifle on Aug. 8 until police arrived.
The situation unfolded in Springfield as Dmitriy Andreychenko, 20, walked into a Walmart just after 4 p.m.
Springfield Police Officers arrived on the scene to find Andreychenko, described as an armed white male, detained by an off-duty fireman, the department said in a statement.
“No injuries were reported and no shots were fired. At this time, the investigation is on-going and we are working to determine his motives,” the department stated.
#BREAKING: Photo obtained by @kolr10kozl of the man arrested at a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri today. Police say man had armor & rifle when an armed off-duty firefighter detained him until police arrived. https://t.co/rQqDTM1Mtt pic.twitter.com/yzA9kUlulX
— Mitchell McCoy (@MitchellMcCoy) August 9, 2019
Andreychenko was charged with making a terrorist threat.
The department told KY3 that the suspect, wearing military fatigues and body armor, had loaded weapons and over 100 rounds of ammunition.
Lieutenant Mike Lucas told the broadcaster that Andreychenko’s wanted to cause chaos, saying: “His intent was not to cause peace or comfort.”
“He’s lucky he’s alive still, to be honest,” Lucas added.
Video footage showed the suspect with his arms in the air, with a rifle strapped to his body, walking towards the police.
Lucas told reporters that the suspect might have been broadcasting his actions live on Facebook and that investigators would watch the footage.
Footage was also obtained from surveillance cameras inside Walmart.
“Walmart has hundreds of cameras,” Lucas said, reported Ozarks First. “Every footstep he took here is going to chronicle and document his actions.”
No reports appeared to detail the off-duty fireman’s actions.
“Thanks to the off-duty firefighter and to Springfield PD for their swift response & outstanding work,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in a statement.
Walmart Pulls Violent Video Game Displays
Walmart is removing from its stores nationwide signs, displays or videos that depict violence following a mass shooting at one of its stores in Texas, though it has not changed its policy on gun sales.
The retailer instructed employees in an internal memo to remove any marketing material, turn off or unplug video game consoles that show violent games—specifically Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and to monitor and turn off any violence depicted on screens in its electronics departments.
Employees were also ordered to turn off hunting season videos in the sporting goods department where guns are sold.
Under the heading: “Immediate Action,” employees were instructed to “Review your store for any signing or displays that contain violent images or aggressive behavior. Remove from the salesfloor or turn off these items immediately.”
“We’ve taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week,” said spokeswoman Tara House in an email to The Associated Press on Friday.
The company’s policy on sales of video games that depict violence has not changed, nor has its policy on gun sales.
Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Walmart banned sales of firearms and ammunition to people younger than 21. It had stopped selling AR-15s and other semi-automatic weapons in 2015, citing weak sales.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
