A man was pulled over by the Police for speeding over in Johnson City (Tennessee). When the man was pulled over a cache of weapons including two submachine guns and 900 rounds of ammunition was found in his car.
The driver of the car was 43-year-old, Scott Edmisten. Washington County Sheriff Ed Graybeal said that the man was carrying a .357-caliber Magnum, a loaded .45-caliber semi-automatic, a .223-caliber fully automatic assault rifle, a .308-caliber fully automatic assault rifle, more than 900 rounds of ammunition, and survival equipment.
A spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Michael Knight said: “Anytime you have several firearms and several hundred rounds of ammunition in a vehicle that always causes a concern.”
Knight also said that authorities have not determined the reason Edmisten was carrying all that weapons yet. However, they don’t see any ties with recent mass shootings.
Knight said that “It’s not connected to any of the other national incidents, but timing obviously was a concern.”
Graybeal asked the ATF to assist examine the source of the automatic guns, which weren’t registered and serial numbers were absent. He told The Johnson City Press that Edmisten also had modified the AR rifles to make them automatics.
Knight said investigators are trying to clarify where Edmisten’s weapons came from.
“Our priority is reducing violent crime on the front end, so that’s the other thing we’re looking at, along with motive: Were these items going to be used for a criminal act or were they just being transported from one area to another area?”
Graybeal said Edmisten threatened the officer who arrested them and attacked toward investigators who tried to question him. He’s imprisoned without bond on charges of owning prohibited weapons, fast-driving, and crime evading arrest. It’s uncertain if he has a lawyer or not.
