Man causes gun scare at Missouri Walmart

Police arrested a heavily armed man who caused a panic Thursday afternoon at a Walmart in Springfield, Mo. The man, identified by police as 20-year-old Dmitriy Andreychenko, was wearing body armor and armed with a tactical rifle, a handgun, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition. He pushed a shopping cart through the store while recording himself on a cellphone. A manager pulled the fire alarm to alert people to evacuate, and an armed, off-duty firefighter detained Andreychenko at gunpoint until officers arrived. Authorities are holding Andreychenko at the Greene County Jail on suspicion of first-degree making a terrorist threat.

Was this a mass shooting attempt? It’s unclear, but no shots were fired and no one was injured. The open carrying of firearms is legal in Missouri unless the weapon is displayed in an angry or threatening manner. But shoppers obviously felt threatened as they fled the store, especially in light of the recent mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, where a gunman killed 22 people.

Dig deeper: The Missouri incident is keeping the spotlight on the gun control debate. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said when lawmakers return from recess on Sept. 9, they will look at red flag laws and a bipartisan bill to expand background checks, but he won’t call the Senate back to the nation’s capital early.