The chief of police for the Spanish Fort (AL) Police Department told reporters that his officers were able to take into custody a man who had allegedly been planning a mass shooting and had opened fire inside a Bass Pro Shops retail store.Screen grab of news report.
The chief of police for the Spanish Fort (AL) Police Department told reporters that his officers were able to take into custody a man who had allegedly been planning a mass shooting and had opened fire inside a Bass Pro Shops retail store.
According to ABC News, a gunman—identified by police as 38-year-old Robert Smith—opened fire on employees and shoppers at a local outlet of the national chain store on Saturday.
Officers quickly responded to the incident, deployed a TASER on the gunman, and took him into custody.
Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber said, "I definitely believe that our officers prevented what would have been a mass shooting incident. When they encountered Robert Smith, he had a bulletproof vest on. From the pictures I've seen, he had several weapons. He had three AR rifle platforms, one AR pistol, a 9mm short rifle, a shotgun, and two pistols with several hundred rounds of ammunition for all the weapons.
Smith now faces charges of resisting arrest, reckless endangerment, discharging a firearm into an occupied building, and second degree assault.
