Man arrested at Walmart says ‘It was foolish’ but no regrets

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — A man who walked into a Missouri Walmart wearing body armor and carrying loaded weapons acknowledges the timing was bad but said he didn’t intend to hurt anyone and doesn’t regret his actions.

Dmitriy Andreychenko, 20, is charged with making a terrorist threat after the Aug. 8 incident at a Walmart in Springfield.

He filmed himself walking through the store with the weapons, prompting shoppers and employees to flee.

No shots were fired before a off-duty firefighter held Andreychenko at gunpoint until police arrived and arrested him. Andreychenko said in a probable cause statement that he was testing whether Walmart would protect his right to openly carry weapons.

The incident came days after 22 people were killed during an attack at another Walmart in El Paso, Texas.

Andreychenko, free on bond and facing a felony charge of making a terrorist threat, told KYTV he never intended to hurt anyone and was surprised by the reaction.

“It was foolish, I didn’t give it thought. It was so innocent that I didn’t even think this would happen,” he said.

Andreychenko said he talked to a Walmart manager before he arrived at the store and was told he was allowed to openly carry a weapon in the store.

Since January 2017, Missouri has not required a permit to openly or conceal carry a firearm for those 19 years or older.

Walmart said in a statement that it allows concealed and open carry in stores if it is legal in the jurisdictions where the stores are located.

ERIC BATISTA/AP A man dressed as a colonial Spaniard rides a horse during activities Thursday celebrating the 500th anniversary of the founding of Panama City, near the ruins of Old Panama. The city was founded August 15, 1519, by Spanish conquistador Pedro Arias Davila.