Plane safely lands after pilot threatened to crash into Mississippi Walmart
Suspect was in custody and was being charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats, Tupelo police chief says
- Police department says it hadevacuated Walmart and gas station.
- Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka says suspect had been responsible for fueling aircraft.
- Suspect is in custody and is being charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats.
The pilot of a small plane who threatened to crash it into a Walmart in Mississippi landed without any injuries, local officials said on Saturday.
Earlier, the police department in Tupelo, Mississippi, said they had been talking directly to the pilot and had evacuated the Walmart and a gas station.
Tupelo Police Chief John Quaka said the suspect, Cory Wayne Patterson, had been responsible for fuelling aircraft.
While Patterson appeared to have had some flight instruction, he was not a licensed pilot, Quaka said at a news conference.
Patterson was in custody and was being charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats, Quaka said, adding that he expected federal charges as well. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Diane Craft, Lisa Shumaker and Jonathan Oatis)