'Copycat' arrested for threatening to shoot up a Florida Walmart, says he was 'intrigued' by El Paso and Dayton shootings
A 'copycat' suspect was arrested by authorities in Florida after he threatened to shoot the Gibsonton Walmart on Sunday at around 1:17 pm. The Walmart was evacuated after Wayne Lee Padgett, 31, called the store, threatening to shoot up the building.
The threat came just 24 hours after one of the worst massacres in American history occurred in an El Paso Walmart, in Texas on Saturday, that left 22 people dead.
Padgett, a Walmart employee's son, made an "active shooter" threat after allegedly being "intrigued" by the El Paso shooting as he told a Walmart employee that he was five minutes away and was going to shoot up the building, according to the Daily Mail.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, after concluding that there was no immediate threat to the particular Walmart store, identified the suspect.
Shortly after Padgett made the call, five deputies rushed to the scene and shoppers were directed out of the building and into the parking lot. The deputies then screened the shoppers and employees to ensure that no one was hurt as they also looked for anyone who behaved in a suspicious manner.
Officers eventually spoke to Padgett, who admitted making the call and said that he was "intrigued with the shootings over the last couple of days," the police said.
The officials added that the 31-year-old lives near the Walmart and his mother, who works at the store, was working at the time he made the threat.
Padgett, who is reportedly unemployed and has no criminal history, now faces a felony count of false report of use of a firearm in a violent manner and making a terrorist threat. Authorities, who described the threat made by him as "copycat", stated that no firearms were found at Padgett's home.
Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) Sheriff Chad Chronister released a statement, saying: "These criminals that seek to make us afraid to go shopping, to the movies, concerts, work and school are nothing but terrorists. This type of behavior seeks to instill fear in people and it will not be tolerated," according to the Tampa Bay Times.
"After the events over the last week, we all fear for our safety to begin with so to have an individual who for whatever reason wants to be a copycat, or wants to instill fear in people for whatever that motive may be is disturbing," the sheriff said. "If you make any type of threat, know that your sheriff's office is going to take it extremely seriously, expend whatever resources in a timely fashion to find that threat."
The Sheriff also urged the residents to report anything suspicious to the authorities, particularly after the deadly shootings in El Paso, and Dayton, Ohio.