This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

A 20-year-old man carrying a loaded rifle and 100 rounds of ammunition caused panic in a Walmart store in Missouri, just days after 31 people were killed in mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton.

Ice raids stir fear as Kamala Harris says they demonstrate 'insensitivity' – live Read more

Springfield police detained the man after an off-duty firefighter, who was carrying a firearm, which is legal in Missouri, held him at gunpoint in the Walmart parking lot late on Thursday afternoon. The suspect wore a tactical vest and filmed himself during the incident.

The mass shootings over the weekend have reignited the debate on gun control and set the US on edge. Crowds of tourists and locals panicked in Manhattan’s Times Square earlier in the week when a motorcycle backfired.

The shootings in El Paso represented the second killings in a week inside a Walmart. Two people were shot and killed inside a Walmart in Southaven, Mississippi, days earlier. The store reopened on Friday.

In the wake of the killings, Walmart removed “violent” video games and signage with aggressive imagery, but the company did not cease sales of firearms. Some employees of the retail giant have called for a walkout to end the continued sale of guns and ammunition.

Police in Springfield, Missouri, the scene of Thursday’s incident, said: “An armed white male in his 20s was detained by an armed, off-duty fireman until officers arrived on the scene and took the suspect into custody.”

Lt Mike Lucas of Springfield police told CNN the man was lucky to be alive. Carrying a weapon is not illegal in Missouri, but carrying it in a threatening manner is.

No shots were fired in Thursday’s incident and it was unclear what the man’s motives were, Springfield police said. They said the man was arrested after walking out of the store with his weapon.

It was not immediately clear if the man had made any threats. His identity was not released and no information on possible charges was available.

Police believe the man intended to cause chaos, but they were also working to determine his motives, they told the Springfield News-Leader newspaper. Police described it as a “really scary, dangerous situation”.

Missouri is an “open carry” state that allows people to openly carry firearms without a special permit, but there are some restrictions, such as on convicted felons.

Donald Trump and Melania visited El Paso and Dayton on Thursday to show support for the victims, their families and first responders. But protests greeted the president’s arrival.

Some Democrat presidential candidates have accused Trump of inflaming tension with anti-immigrant and racist rhetoric. Elizabeth Warren and Beto O’Rourke have called Trump a white supremacist.

The accused gunman in El Paso had posted an anti-immigrant screed online, criticizing a “Hispanic invasion”. Trump frequently talks about an invasion of the US by migrants across the US-Mexico border.