VALRICO, Fla. – A Florida man is charged with threatening to open fire inside a Walmart, one day after a gunman killed more than 20 people inside a Texas store.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office arrested Wayne Lee Padgett, 31, of Valrico late Sunday. He is accused of calling the Walmart Supercenter in Gibsonton, Florida, on Sunday afternoon and telling managers he planned to shoot up the store. About 1,000 people were inside the store, which was evacuated.
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Investigators said they traced the call to Padgett. No gun was found at his house near Tampa.
Padgett is charged with filing a false report of using a firearm in a threatening manner. He was being held Monday at the Hillsborough County jail on $7,500 bond. No attorney was listed.
A gunman killed 22 at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on Saturday.
Just hours after a false threat was made at the Walmart in Gibsonton, we’ve arrested Wayne Lee Padgett. He is charged with False Report Of Using A Firearm In A Violent Manner(a felony). pic.twitter.com/KkR2aXNLKf
— HCSO #teamhcso (@HCSOSheriff) August 5, 2019