Man suspected of planning mass shooting at Walmart store arrested in Texas

A man suspected of planning a mass shooting was arrested in Texas after authorities intercepted a message that indicated he was "preparing to proceed," the Kerr County Sheriff's Office (KCSO) said in a statement on Sunday.

Coleman Thomas Blevins, 28, made a specific threat to target a local Walmart store, KCSO said in the statement posted on Facebook.

The Sheriff's Office posted an image of evidence apparently collected from Blevins' apartment that showed a rifle with multiple magazines, a flag with Nazi party symbols and the national flag of Saudi Arabia. Books and hand-written documents were also seized by investigators.

The statement did not specify what kind of message had alerted authorities, but after intercepting it KCSO confirmed, with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), that Blevins had the capability to follow through with the threat.

Blevins was arrested on a warrant for a "Terroristic Threat to Create Public Fear of Serious Bodily Injury," the statement said.

Blevins is currently on active felony probation and is prohibited from possessing firearms. He is booked into the Kerr County Jail where he remains.

The FBI or other federal authorities may seek federal charges in this case, KCSO said.

-reuters-

'Multiple people injured' in shooting at US mall: media

Eight people were injured in a shooting at a US mall in Wisconsin on Friday according to police, who said they were still hunting for the shooter.

The FBI and the Milwaukee County Sheriff's office tweeted that their officers were on the scene at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, supporting the "active" response by local police.

"When emergency personnel arrived, the shooter was no longer at the scene," the Wauwatosa Police Department said in a statement.

It said the wounded included seven adults and one teenager who had been rushed to hospital. The seriousness of their injuries was not immediately known, but Wauwatosa mayor Dennis McBride told ABC news their injuries were not life threatening.

The shooter was identified by police as a "white male in his 20s or 30s."

Numerous workers at the mall took shelter inside the building as the shooter rampaged, according to videos circulating on social media.

Shopper Jill Wooley told a local news station she was inside with her 79-year-old mother when the gunfire erupted.

"I knew right away it was a gunshot and they just kept coming one right after the other," Wooley told CBS affiliate WDJT. "We just dropped to the floor."

"I think we're all born with it," she said. "We've all been exposed to public shootings like this. I think all of us have thought of what we would do in a situation like this."

"We are disheartened and angered that our guests and tenants were subject to this violent incident today," the company that operates the mall said in a statement.

"We are thankful for our partners at the Wauwatosa Police Department and we are cooperating with them as their investigation develops," it added.

Agence France-Presse