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Firefighter Thwarts Possible Mass Shooting at Missouri Walmart

Police respond to a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, where an armed man was arrested on Aug. 8, 2019. (Credit: KOLR via CNN)

Police in Springfield, Missouri, say they have arrested an armed man who showed up a Walmart store wearing body armor, sending panicked shoppers fleeing the store.

Springfield police posted on Facebook that “an armed individual” was arrested. No shots were fired.

The Springfield News-Leader quoted Lt. Mike Lucas as saying that the man showed up Thursday afternoon wearing body armor and military-style clothing. He walked inside the Walmart carrying a “tactical rifle” and another gun. Lucas says the man had more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

Lucas says an off-duty firefighter held the suspect, a 20-year-old man, at gunpoint until police arrived.

He says: “His intent obviously was to cause chaos here, and he did that.”

The incident happened five days after a mass shooting at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart, left 22 people dead.

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