Police Identify Armed Man Arrested at Walmart

It's still not clear what charges Dmitriy Andreychenko will face
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 9, 2019 12:30 PM CDT
Police Identify Armed Man Arrested at Walmart
Dmitriy Andreychenko.   (Greene County Jail)

We now know the identity of the man who set off a scare at a Missouri Walmart by walking in with a tactical rifle. But little else—including his motive and any possible charges—remain unclear. On Friday, police identified the man as 20-year-old Dmitriy Andreychenko, reports the AP. He has been booked on suspicion of first-degree making a terrorist threat, but the Springfield News-Leader reports that no charges appear to have been filed yet. Andreychenko, who lives in the Springfield area, was detained Thursday after he walked into the store with a bullet-proof vest, two weapons, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition, sending panicked shoppers fleeing from the store. This came less than a week after the massacre at a Walmart in El Paso.

A former Greene County prosecutor tells the News-Leader that any charges will depend on what happened in the store and perhaps on any motives that might be gleaned from the gunman's cellphone or online postings. It isn't illegal to carry even a loaded assault weapon, says Dee Wampler, but if Andreychenko were displaying it in a threatening fashion, that could be a felony. If he refused to leave the store when asked, that could be a misdemeanor. "If he was looking at people in a menacing way or if he was saying something to other customers that was frightening to them—those would be factors," says Wampler. Andreychenko also could face some kind of misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. (An 11-year-old has a challenge for El Paso.)

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