Authorities in Tupelo, Mississippi, are on high alert after a pilot circling over the small town threatened to intentionally crash his plane into a Walmart, police said Saturday morning.
“At this time the situation is ongoing with TPD and all Emergency Services in our area on alert,” Tupelo Police said, the Associated Press reports. “With the mobility of an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”
“Local, State and Federal Authorities are continuing to monitor this dangerous situation,” police said.
The Tupelo Walmart store is “currently closed and evacuated,” Charles Crowson, director of the Walmart Press Office, told CNN.
“We’re working closely with local investigators and are referring questions to law enforcement,” he added.
The airplane is “possibly King Air type,” police said in their press release.
The pilot of a small airplane circling over Tupelo, Mississippi, on Saturday morning has threatened to crash the aircraft into a Walmart store, police said.
The Walmart and a nearby convenience store have been evacuated. https://t.co/T8aGUBhDy7
— The Associated Press (@AP) September 3, 2022