Armed man clad in body armour arrested at US Walmart after frightening shoppers a week on from Texas massacre

A national debate on gun safety was reignited by Saturday’s shooting in a Texas Walmart store on the border with Mexico that killed 22 people

No shots were fired in Thursday’s incident in Missouri and it was unclear what the man’s motives were, police said in an online statement

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Police respond to the incident at a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday. Photo: AP

Published: 2:45pm, 9 Aug 2019Updated: 3:37pm, 9 Aug 2019

US police arrested a man in body armour with a loaded rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition who walked into a Walmart store in Springfield, Missouri, on Thursday, alarming customers within in a week of back-to-back shootings that shocked the nation.

A national debate on gun safety was reignited by Saturday’s shooting in Texas that killed 22 in a Walmart store in El Paso on the border with Mexico, hours before another in Dayton, Ohio on Sunday that killed 9 people and the suspect.

Mourners hug at a memorial service on Monday for victims of the Dayton shooting. Photo: Reuters

No shots were fired in Thursday’s incident and it was unclear what the man’s motives were, Springfield police said in an online statement. A police representative was not immediately available to speak early on Friday.

“An armed white male in his twenties was detained by an armed, off-duty fireman until officers arrived on the scene and took the suspect into custody,” the statement said, describing the incident at about 4pm in southwest Springfield.

He was arrested after walking out of the store with his weapon, police said.