Walmart worker's son threatened to 'shoot up' a Florida Walmart store and said he was inspired by recent deadly shootings
- A Florida man is accused of threatening to "shoot up" the Walmart store where his mother works.
- Wayne Padgett, 31, told police he was "intrigued" by recent shootings and specifically cited the shooting at an El Paso, Texas Walmart on Saturday that left 20 people dead, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office told Business Insider.
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A Florida man is accused of threatening to "shoot up" a Walmart store following two deadly shootings at Walmart stores in Texas and Mississippi within the past week.
The suspect, Wayne Padgett, 31, told police he was "intrigued" by recent shootings and specifically cited the massacre at an El Paso, Texas Walmart on Saturday that left 20 people dead, a spokeswoman for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office told Business Insider. Two Walmart employees were killed in a separate shooting at a Walmart store in Southaven, Mississippi, last week.
Padgett, whose mother is a Walmart employee, was arrested Sunday on a felony charge of making a false report of using a firearm in a violent manner, authorities said.
Padgett allegedly called a Walmart supercenter in Gibsonton, Florida, at 1:17 p.m. on Sunday and told a Walmart employee that he was five minutes from the store and planned to "shoot up" the store when he arrived, the police spokeswoman said.
The Walmart employee reported the call to his manager, who called 911 and immediately initiated an evacuation of the store. Police arrived on the scene within two minutes and began searching for an active shooter.
Several hours later, police arrested Padgett. Padgett admitted to making the call, blocking his phone number, and deleting his call history, but did not admit to making the threat, police said.
Authorities said no firearms were found at his home and he does not have a criminal history.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, Padget's mother is a Walmart employee who working at the Gibsonton store when the threat was made on Sunday.
"These criminals that seek to make us afraid to go shopping, to the movies, concerts, work and school are nothing but terrorists," Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "This type of behavior will not be tolerated. We will pursue justice to the fullest extent of the law."