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Gunman arrested near US Army base

13 May 2011 02:23 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The US police in Rolla, Missouri, have shot and arrested a gunman who attempted to break into an Army base through its west gate and nearby a university campus, APA reports quoting Press TV.

The military police said that Cody N. Willcoxson, of South West City, tried to enter the Fort Leonard Wood Thursday morning, but when a security guard told him to leave because his identification card did not seem legitimate, he accelerated and drove through the gate, firing with an AK-47 assault rifle from his car, Fox News quoted Rolla Police Chief Mark Kearse as saying on Thursday afternoon.

"The suspect then began shooting at the Rolla Police Officers and members of the County Sheriff’s department as they pursued him," Kearse said at a press conference. "The suspect drove through several neighborhoods in the area and continued shooting at officers."

The suspect exited the highway in the high-speed car chase, and entered the college town of Rolla, the home of the Missouri University of Science and Technology, where classes were in session.

University officials said the man fired shots near the campus, but not on the campus, and the campus remained on lockdown throughout the morning.

The suspect was among nine inmates who attacked a jailer and fled on foot from the Delaware County Jail in Oklahoma. He had escaped twice previously, and authorities suspected him of masterminding the jail break.

Willcoxson, 31, previously served three-and-a-half years in an Oklahoma prison for burglary, escaping from jail, and faces four felony charges of assault on law enforcement. He will be held on $1 million dollar bond, Rolla, Missouri, Police Chief Mark Kearse said.

There are no reports of injuries at the Army post or the university campus.