Kamogelo Olaitan
A man flying a small aircraft was arrested after he threatened to fly the plane into a Walmart shop.
The man from Mississippi in the United States allegedly stole the small aeroplane from the airport where he worked and circled near Tupelo, Mississippi, for hours before landing in a field.
The police negotiated with the man named Cory Wayne Patterson in mid-air for hours before he landed in the field.
NBC News reports that Patterson, 29, called 911 from the aircraft to say that he was going to intentionally crash into the Walmart.
Tupelo police Chief John Quaka said at a news conference that the suspect worked at the local airport but was not believed to hold a pilot’s licence.
“The pilot did not have [the] experience to land the aircraft,” he said.
“A private pilot assisted us in helping this pilot complete the landing but upon final approach, the pilot aborted the landing and travelled away from Tupelo.”
He faces charges of grand larceny and making terrorist threats.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves thanked local, state, and federal law enforcement.
“They managed the situation with extreme professionalism,” he Tweeted.
Image source: @NewYorkPost
