After a recent incident in which a Missouri man named Dmitriy Andreychenko walked into a Walmart wearing body armor and carrying an assault rifle, there was speculation that he might have been another attempted mass shooter.
However, the man claims to have had completely “harmless” intentions and told officers that he was testing his right to bear arms provided to him by the constitution.
He specifically claimed that he wanted to know if “Walmart honored the Second Amendment.”
In a probable cause statement, he told police officers: “He stated his intentions were to buy grocery bags and did not intend for anybody to act negatively towards him. The rifle had a loaded magazine inserted, but a round was not chambered. He also had a handgun on his right hip, which was loaded with one round in the chamber.”
Walmart spokesperson LeMia Jenkins said in a statement: “This was a reckless act 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.”
Andreychenko wanted to just buy grocery bags, and did not want to harm anybody, nor did he want people to act negatively towards him, at least, this is what he is claiming.
According to officers, the rifle was fully loaded, but it was just not chambered with a round. A handgun that the man was also carrying did have a round loaded in the chamber.
The man was reportedly also confused by the response he got from locals as well as authorities, as he did not expect anyone to act negatively towards him.
He added that he fully believed that this would not happen in Missouri, comparing it to places like New York or California where it would be more likely for people to get upset over carrying guns.
An off-duty firefighter arrested the man after he walked out of the store, pointing a gun at him and telling him to put his hands up.
The man claimed to have just been trying to protect himself after the recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio and meant no harm, though it does not seem like many are buying his story in full.
Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson explained: “Missouri protects the right of people to open carry a firearm, but that right does not allow an individual to act in a reckless and criminal manner endangering other citizens. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes famously explained, ‘the most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man in falsely shouting fire in a theatre causing a panic.”
Responsible gun owners are not applauding Andreychenko for what he did at the Springfield Walmart.
One of them stated after the story went viral: “Shit like this is why people have such a hard time believing there are responsible gun owners. Also, this is beyond disrespectful; he can say this was a “social experiment,” but this is an act of someone with severe cognitive dissonance and zero respect for how other people perceive situations. It makes me think someone doing something like this doesn’t understand responsible ownership and the ability to help people feel safe around a gun; this promotes the total opposite.”
A defender of the 20-year-old man’s actions replied: “If open carry is protected under Missouri state law, then what about this was criminal? Does the prosecuting attorney not know what “criminal” means? Recklessness isn’t a crime under this specific statute either. Was it dumb? Ya, IMO. But not illegal in any way, shape or form.”
Another Open Carry advocate added: “How in the f*** was he reckless or endangering other people? He walked around with a rifle sling; barrel pointed down….”
A few people on the other side of the political spectrum have brought up the fact the outcome might have been different if Andreychenko was a person of color.
Before getting charged with a felony of making a terrorist threat in the second degree, the man had asked his wife, Angelice Andreychenko, and sister, Anastasia Andreychenko, if this was a good idea and they told him no.
The spouse is said to be pregnant and is expecting to give birth in January.
If convicted, the Second Amendment enthusiast could spend 4 years in prison and pay a fine up to $10,000.
