Authorities say a small plane has landed safely in Mississippi after its pilot at one point threatened to crash the plane into a Walmart.
Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced on Twitter that the “situation has been resolved and that no one was injured.” The plane landed and the subject was taken into custody, according to Benton County Sheriff Dispatcher Connie Strickland.
Earlier Saturday morning, Gov. Reeves had warned residents near Tupelo, Mississippi, to "be on alert" after police said a pilot flying a small plane over the town threatened to crash into a Walmart.
The plane started circling over Tupelo, Mississippi, about 5 a.m. ET. Several hours later, police said the plane was on the move north of the city.
Reeves shared an image on Twitter Saturday morning showing the airplane's flight path, circling multiple times and criss-crossing over the town of 38,000.
According to a police statement Reeves tweeted, the airplane pilot "made contact with (911) and is threatening to intentionally crash into Wal Mart on West Main."
Authorities believe the aircraft — a Beechcraft King Air C90A — was stolen and are working to determine whether the pilot operating it is an employee of a local airport, two people briefed on the matter told The Associated Press. Multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, are now involved in the investigation and are working to discern a motive, the people said.
The Walmart and another neighboring store were told to evacuate, according to police.
Leslie Criss, a magazine editor who lives in Tupelo, woke up early and was watching the situation on TV and social media. Several of her friends were outside watching the plane circle overhead.
“I've never seen anything like this in this town,” Criss said. “It's a scary way to wake up on a Saturday morning."
Contributing: The Associated Press
