The man who threatened to crash a plane into Tupelo Walmart on Saturday morning has been arrested and is charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats, several US-based news networks reported. The accused was earlier identified as Corry Patterson from Shannon, Mississippi. 

Patterson, a 29-year-old airline employee, is said to have stolen the plane at some point. News of him on the plane reached cops at 5 am when he himself called 911 and threatened to crash the plane into Walmart. Police cautioned residents and asked them to steer clear of the area. 

Cops kept speaking to the man asking him to land the plane. However, new information shows that he initially could not. While he was onboard circling over the Mississippi town, a Facebook post attributed to him started doing the rounds on social media. 

“Sorry everyone. Never actually wanted to hurt anyone. I love my parents and sister this isn’t your fault,” the post read. 

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said at the time that state law enforcement and emergency managers were tracking the dangerous situation. “All citizens should be alert and aware of the updates from the Tupelo Police Department,” Governor Reeves wrote on Twitter. 

Later, when the plane landed successful and after the man flying it was taken into custody, Tate Reeves 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.” 

Tupelo is the sixth-largest city is Mississippi and is regarded as north Mississippi’s cultural and industrial centre. The city has an estimated population of 38,300. Once upon a time, Tupelo was the hub of America’s furniture manufacturing industry. However, the manufacturing centres died out in the 1990s.