ODESSA, Texas —
The Odessa Police Department has released new details on the arrest of a man for a threat at a Walmart on Thursday.
According to OPD, Ector County Sheriff's Office Dispatch received a 911 call from a man requesting help at the Walmart located at 2450 NW Loop 338.
The person who made the call, later identified as Raji Abdulazeez, 31, said that he was in some form of a crisis situation at the store.
Abdulazeez also said that he was armed with a gun.
ECSO identified that the call was in the city and relayed the information to the OPD.
Officers from various agencies responded to the scene. It was obvious that Walmart had become aware of the situation and, out of an abundance of caution and for the protection of their staff and customers, began an evacuation of the store.
OPD officers, ECSO deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety Troopers entered the store and worked with Walmart staff to find where Abdulazeez was inside of the store.
They then detained him without incident or injury.
Officers confirmed that Abdulazeez was the initial caller and found that he was in possession of a non-functioning BB gun. However, the BB gun was never displayed and there were no overt threats made to the business or any person.
Investigation revealed that Abdulazeez had been previously issued a criminal trespass warning by Walmart for unrelated matters in the past.
He was arrested and charged with criminal trespass, a class B misdemeanor, and is currently being held at the Ector County Law Enforcement Center.
The department said they have also requested assistance from local mental health officials.
OPD released the following thank you to those who helped in the situation:
"The Odessa Police Department would like to thank all of the West Texas Law Enforcement officers and supervisors that responded. All agencies acted as a team and resolved the situation quickly and efficiently. We would also like to thank the dispatchers from both Ector County and the City of Odessa for their communication and help. Finally, thank you to the management and staff at Walmart for their coordination with law enforcement and care for our citizens they displayed."
We will continue to update this story as we receive more information.