Police chief: no firearm found during incident at Walmart

Tahlequah Police Chief Nate King said no firearms were brandished during an incident at Walmart Wednesday afternoon.

Law enforcement agencies were dispatched to the store after a man reportedly “brandished a firearm.”

“We had calls of an active shooter at Walmart today and with all the dispatchers being in the same room, not only were all the law enforcement agencies in the county notified instantly, but EMS was on standby. Everybody that needed to know knew instantly and we didn’t have to make a call here and make a call there. Everybody knew at one time,” King said.

The chief said the man had a gun case but not a firearm during the incident.

“It appears that he was suffering from an active psychosis, mental health issues. He was safely placed in custody and transported to a local hospital for further evaluation,” he said.

King clarified that the man did have a knife on his person and bleach but wasn’t reportedly “threatening” people.

“He did have a rifle case that he bought at Walmart. It was slung over his shoulder so that’s where the report of the gun came from, but there was no gun in the case,” King said.