An armed white man in his twenties was arrested Thursday afternoon at a Missouri Walmart, Springfield police said.
Officers responded to a call of an active shooter at the Walmart Neighborhood Market, Police Lt. Mike Lucas said.
But no shots were fired and no one was injured, police said.
"All we know is the fact that he walked in here heavily armed with body armor on, in military fatigues and caused a great amount of panic inside the store. So he certainly had the capability the potential to harm people," Lucas said.
The man was detained by an off-duty fireman until officers arrived and took the suspect into custody, police said in a statement.
"At this time, the investigation is ongoing and we are working to determine his motives," the statement said.
Lucas said the recent spate of mass shootings in public places may have placed customers on heightened alert, leading them to call police reporting an active shooter.
"And then obviously what's happened in Texas and Dayton and all that kind of stuff in the last seven days -- that's on everybody's mind," Lucas said.
