An Ohio man who was arrested for allegedly threatening people with a BB gun in a Walmart claims he was just trying to return a defective product.
Milton Baum, 70, was arrested and charged with inducing panic, menacing, and aggravated menacing after a Walmart employee in West Chester, Ohio, said that Baum threatened “to shoot someone.”
According to ABC 5, a customer at the store called 911 and said, “We are in the Walmart store on Cincinnati-Dayton Road, and there is a man threatening to shoot people with a gun in his hand.”
An employee at the store told dispatchers that the gun appeared to be a rifle.
Baum said that he had purchased the BB gun for his grandson but decided to return it to the store because it wouldn’t cock. He said he left the gun in his car at first but made a comment to an employee that didn’t go over well.
“I said, ‘Look, I bought this defective BB gun, and I want to return it,’” Baum claimed. “This guy is giving me attitude, and I said, ‘Sir, I don’t know how much common sense you have.’ I said, ‘You know who you remind me of? The hall monitor in high school.’”
Baum said despite the confrontation with the employee, another worker at the store told him to bring the gun into the store, which caused the situation to escalate and spark fear among some in the Walmart.
Baum claims to have never threatened anyone during the incident.
“It’s a BB gun. It doesn’t have a firing pin. It doesn’t have bullets in it,” he said.
A Walmart representative released a statement that said, “We applaud the quick actions of our associates and are thankful that no one was injured. We appreciate the swift response of the West Chester Police Department, and will refer additional questions to them.”
Baum pleaded not guilty to the charges and is expected to appear back in court next month.
