A 20-year-old Springfield, Missouri, man has been charged with making a terrorist threat after walking into a Walmart with a loaded rifle in an attempt to conduct a "social experiment."

The Associated Press reports Dmitriy Andreychenko walked into a local Walmart last week with a loaded rifle, handgun and a bulletproof vest to test out his right to bear arms. He also had about 100 rounds of ammunition and sparked an evacuation of the store. On August 9, prosecutors charged Andreychenko for causing a panic in the crowded store.

“This is Missouri,” Andreychenko reportedly told investigators. “I understand if we were somewhere else like New York or California, people would freak out.” 

The suspect took out his phone and began recording the chaos he initiated, The Washington Post reported. During the evacuation, a former member of the military held the man at gunpoint until police arrived at the scene. 

A police interceptor reportedly crashed into another vehicle while heading to the local Walmart. Springfield Police Lt. Mike Lucas told local media that there were no shots fired and the gunman was arrested alive. 

“His intent was not to cause peace or comfort to anybody that was in the business here,” Lucas said. “In fact, he’s lucky he’s alive still, to be honest.” 

The strange display of white privilege reminded Twitter users of Tamir Rice and John Crawford, who were both gunned down for having fake guns in open carry states in 2014. 

The incident occurred just a week after an armed white supremacist Trump supporter entered a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 20 people. 

"Missouri protects the right of people to open carry a firearm, but that does not allow an individual to act in a reckless and criminal manner endangering other citizens," Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson told media in a statement announcing the charge.

Angelice Andreychenko, his wife, called her husband an immature boy while trying to convince him to abandon the demonstration. Anastasia Andreychenko, the gunman's sister, was asked to record the incident but declined. 

Despite pushback from his wife and sister, Dmitriy continued to carry out his "experiment."

Walmart released a statement August 9 saying the gunman's “reckless act [was] designed to scare people, disrupt our business and it put our associates and customers at risk.”

"We applaud the quick actions of our associates to evacuate customers from our store, and we’re thankful no one was injured,” the company added. 

Missouri residents are allowed to openly or conceal carry a firearm for those 19 years or older. However, Andreychenko's actions put others in jeopardy. He faces a sentence of four years behind bars and a $10,000 fine if convicted.

Dmitriy-AndreychenkoMass-ShootingsWhite Privilege