Fully armed soldier arrested at mall after 911 calls

Doug Stanglin | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Man arrested at mall with assault rifle, ammo Police arrested a man carrying an assault rifle and ammunition at a Fayetteville, North Carolina, mall after officers received multiple reports of an armed man walking through a Macy's department store. Police said he was tracked down in minutes.

A Fort Bragg soldier has been released to his company commander after his arrest on charges of creating a panic at a North Carolina mall for allegedly showing up with an AR-15 assault-type rifle and bulletproof vest.

Bryan Scott Wolfinger, 25, was taken into custody Thursday evening outside the Cross Creek Mall in Fayetteville and charged with "going armed to the terror of the public," the Associated Press reported.

Fayetteville police said in a statement that Wolfinger was arrested "without incident."

Police said the soldier was allegedly preparing to have photograph taken with the military equipment — including an AR-15 rifle, Kevlar vest and multiple ammunition magazines — when police began getting 911 calls about an armed male walking through Macy's.

WTVD-TV. however, reports that Wolfinger's 90-minute session at Picture This Portrait Studio was also over and he was leaving the studio at the time.

The unidentified photographer told WTVD that the studio will no longer conduct photo sessions with people using weapons as accessories.

The mall was in lockdown for about an hour, causing shoppers and merchants to rush from the mall during a busy shopping period, the Fayetteville Observerreported.

The Fayetteville area is home to Fort Bragg, the nation's largest military installation.

"With the terror alerts that we've had, it's a holiday weekend, it's the nation's birthday, our senses are high," Fayetteville Assistant Police Chief Anthony Kelly told WRAL-TV. "Thankfully, it turned out like it did."

North Carolina is an 'Open Carry' state, with a number of restrictions as spelled out by the North Carolina Department of Justice.