Tupelo flight hijack: 7 things you need to know

Tupelo, a
small town in Mississippi, woke up to a weird Saturday morning with news
surfacing that a man was threatening to crash a plane into the Tupelo Walmart.
As panic gripped citizens, the Tupelo police called on people to steer clear of
the area. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves asked citizens to remain alert and
watch out for information coming from law enforcement officials. The plane is
now down and the man flying it is in police custody, according to ABC News who
spoke to the Benton Country Sheriff’s Office.

Here are 7
things you need to know about the Tupelo flight hijacking:

1.       At around 5 am Saturday, Tupelo
police received a call from the man flying the plane who threatened to crash
into the Tupelo Walmart. According to cops, the flight was of King Air variety.

2.       Police issued an alert and spoke to
Walmart and nearby Dodges to quickly clear out the area and disperse as many
people as possible. The Tupelo Police Department issued a statement saying: “Citizens
are asked to avoid that area until an all clear is given. With the mobility of
an airplane of that type the danger zone is much larger than even Tupelo.”

3.       Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves
responded to the incident. He said law enforcement officials and emergency
managers are closely tracking the situation. “All citizens should be on alert
and aware of updates from the Tupelo Police Department.”

4.       Meanwhile, the man flying the plane
was going in random circles far to the northwest of Tupelo, while flying very
high and altering altitudes between 500 and 1,500 mean sea level, according to
a Flightradar24 report.

5.       As the day went by, police sources
confirmed that the man flying the plane has been identified as a Corry
Patterson from Shannon, Mississippi. Shannon is said to be around 29 years old.
Social media chatter states that Patterson was an airline or airport staffer,
his professional role is yet to be confirmed.

6.       Patterson reportedly stole the plane
and flew it around Tupelo. At a point in the day, news surfaced that Tupelo had
put up a social media post which said: “Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted
to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn’t your fault.” This made
many on social media wonder whether this was a suicide bid.

7.       The plane has come down, Mississippi
Governor Tate Reeves confirmed. He tweeted: “The plane over North MS is down.
Thankful the situation has been resolved and no one was injured. Thank you most
of all to local, state, and federal law enforcement who managed this situation
with extreme professionalism.”