
Image source: KSPR-TV video screenshot
The 20-year-old suspect walked into the store filming the chaos on his cellphone before he was stopped
An off-duty firefighter with a concealed carry permit is being hailed a hero tonight, after he held an armed suspect wearing tactical gear at gunpoint at a Missouri Walmart.
At around 4:10 p.m. Thursday, a white male suspect in his 20s entered a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Springfield, Missouri, wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with two firearms while carrying more than 100 rounds of ammunition on his person.
The incident was called in to 911 as an active shooter situation.
According to Lt. Mike Lucas of the Springfield Police Department, the man pushed a shopping cart through the store while taking video on his phone as shoppers panicked and ran. KSPR-TV reported that the store manager pulled the fire alarm and urged patrons to flee, while "the suspect made his way out an emergency exit where a firefighter held the man at gunpoint."
The firefighter reportedly held the man for roughly three minutes before police arrived and arrested the suspect. Lucas later told reporters of the suspect, "His intent was not to cause peace or comfort to anybody that was in that business. He's lucky he's alive still, to be honest."
Ozarks First reported that no shots were fired, no one was injured, and the suspect is still in custody. No charges have yet been filed, but Lt. Lucas assured, "We definitely have some crimes here."
Authorities across the country are on high alert after a series of high-profile mass murders in recent weeks. Lt. Lucas confirmed that sentiment, telling KSPR, "Obviously, what's happened in Texas and Dayton...in the last seven days — that's on everyone's mind."