Fla. man asks Walmart for gun that could ‘kill 200 people’ to make a point, he says

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (WPTV/CNN) - Florida police got involved when they heard a man had asked a Walmart clerk for a gun that would kill 200 people.

A man went into a Florida Walmart and asked for a gun that would "kill 200 people" to make a point, he says. (Source: WPTV/CNN)

The man told WPTV he had no intention of causing any harm or alarm to anyone and it wasn't intended as a joke. He said it was more of a political statement against the sale of certain firearms.

Phil Attey now admits the best way to make a point might not have been to ask a Walmart clerk Wednesday night if they could sell him a gun that would kill 200 people.

He insists he wasn't serious and that he's a gun violence prevention activist.

"I'm in a Walmart a few days after El Paso and I'm seeing a white nationalist looking guy purchase a gun and I got mad,” Attey said.

Port St. Lucie police became alarmed when they found out from the clerk and a store customer.

"I think we're in a day and age when you can’t take any comment like that lightly, and we encouraged people to bring anything to our attention,” said Assistant Police Chief Richard Del Toro.

Police say they already talked with Attey, a one-time Florida resident who now lives in Washington DC.

"This is just me. This is the power of an individual, not an organization, not a political campaign, but just the power of an individual to stand up and say, ‘No more,” he said.

Police say they haven’t charged Attey, but they have not ruled it out. They also ask that anyone who ever hears anything like this to let them know about it right away.

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