A man who entered a Florida Walmart and asked an employee about buying a weapon that could kill large amounts of people says he was trying to make a point about gun violence.
The Port St. Lucie Police Department released surveillance images of the man who they say made the inquiry in the store on Wednesday.
"Can you sell me anything (or a gun) that would kill 200 people?" the man asked a clerk in the sporting goods department, according to WPTV.
The clerk replied, "That isn't funny," and the man responded, "I know," WPTV reported.
Police said they were trying to identify the man, but by Thursday afternoon, he had been found and deemed to be no threat, officials said.
The man, identified as Philip Attey, told WPTV that what he said "was in poor taste" but said he's a longtime gun violence prevention activist.
Attey said he became mad after seeing someone who he thought looked like a "white nationalist" purchase a gun, WPTV reported.
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It "was for them [Walmart] to wake up and think about their role in the gun violence toxic climate that we have," Attey said.
The incident comes just days after a man killed 22 people in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
