PORT ST. LUCIE — Police said a man who reportedly asked a Walmart clerk Wednesday whether the clerk could “sell me a gun that can kill 200 people” indicated he was an "anti-gun activist."

Police at 11:20 a.m. Thursday publicized the case, saying they were seeking help in identifying the man in the Wednesday evening incident at the Walmart in the 10800 block of South U.S. 1.

“He got a reaction. He got a lot of people concerned,” said Sgt. Robert Vega, police spokesman. “He got police involved and we spent many hours trying to track down this individual to determine what his motives were.”

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Police identified the man as Philip Michael Attey II, 55, of Port St. Lucie. Police said it didn’t appear Attey is an “immediate threat.”

“Detectives are still looking into whether or not charges are going to be filed,” Vega said. “They need to review the case. They’re not really sure exactly what direction it’s going to go in.”

Vega said the case began when a person was having a conversation with a clerk in the sporting goods department. That conversation was interrupted by a man.

“Can you sell me a gun that can kill 200 people,” the man is quoted as saying in a police report.

The clerk said that wasn’t funny, and the man reportedly said, “I know,” and once again asked whether the clerk “could sell him anything that would kill 200 people.”

Police released photos of the man and asked for help in identifying him.

About 2:45 p.m. Thursday, police said they were able to identify him as Attey after getting a tip.

According to a police report, the assistant manager said he spoke to the man and that the man told him he was an “anti-gun nut and that he wanted his voice heard, that Walmart should stop selling guns.”

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“He stated that he believes that if Walmart would stop selling guns that the whole nation would follow,” the report states.

Vega said Attey “has a platform which he’s trying to get out.”

“The means in which he’s going about his platform is something that we don’t recommend,” Vega said. “It brought a lot of concern to not only the civilian shopper but also the people at Walmart and also local law enforcement.”

The incident follows another one earlier this week in which a 34-year-old man was accused of threatening to bring a gun to school to get faster enrollment service for his child, an affidavit said.

Ryan Adam Winterbottom, of the 5100 block of Northwest Aljo Circle in Port St. Lucie, was arrested shortly after noon Tuesday on a threat to bomb charge by St. Lucie County sheriff’s investigators.

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Sheriff’s officials about 10 a.m. Tuesday went to Samuel S. Gaines Academy K-8 in the 2200 block of South Jenkins Road in Fort Pierce after a “school threat.”

A school security officer reported he was told Winterbottom called and inquired about the wait time to enroll his child. School in St. Lucie County starts Aug. 12.

The officer was told he “became irate on the phone and started making threats about going home and grabbing a gun and returning to the school,” the affidavit said.

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