Story highlights
NEW: Soldier Bryan Wolfinger was arrested without incident and charged with "going armed to the terror of the public," police say
NEW: Police have released him, and he is "with his chain of command," an 82nd Airborne Division spokesman says
Police say the soldier was carrying an AR-15, Kevlar vest and multiple ammunition magazines
Police arrested a soldier carrying an AR-15 rifle and ammunition at a Fayetteville, North Carolina, mall after officers received multiple reports of an armed man walking through a Macy’s department store.
Bryan Wolfinger was tracked down within minutes near the Macy’s wing of the Cross Creek Mall on Thursday evening, police said.
He was detained without incident, according to police, and charged with “going armed to the terror of the public.”
Wolfinger, who is assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division, was carrying the rifle, a Kevlar vest and multiple ammunition magazines, and he intended to have photographs taken with the gun and the other equipment, CNN affiliate WNCN reported, citing Fayetteville police.
Police have released Wolfinger, and he is “with his chain of command,” said Master Sgt. Patrick Malone, a spokesman for 82nd Airborne Division.
“These charges represent actions that are wholly inconsistent with the high standards and values we expect from our paratroopers,” Malone said. Fort Bragg is fully cooperating with the police investigation, he said.
While initial reports indicated that a second armed man was in the mall, Wolfinger was found to be acting alone. Officers searched the entire mall to be sure there was no second armed man present, the police statement said.
CNN’s Dave Alsup contributed to this report.