An Arizona man who claims to be a vigilante has been charged after a National Guard convoy was forced off a highway and 11 soldiers held at gunpoint as they tried to deliver coronavirus vaccines to a small town in north Texas.
No shots were fired and the troops involved were not injured in the harrowing ambush that occurred Monday morning just outside Lubbock, Texas, according to The Washington Post.
The Guardsmen were headed 80 miles east to the town of Matador in three unmarked white vans when they were allegedly cut off in traffic by 66-year-old Larry Harris, who later told police he thought the fleet had been involved in a kidnapping, and that he was trying to rescue a woman and child.
Harris was so determined that he swerved into oncoming traffic to stop the convoy, police said.
Once he got the vans pulled to the side of the road, Harris pointed a loaded .45-caliber pistol at one of the soldiers, according to Idalou Police Chief Eric C. Williams.
Harris then identified himself as a detective and ordered the rest of the troops out of the vehicles.
At that point, someone among the crew called 911, and soon Idalou police officers were on the scene, where Harris surrendered and was placed under arrest.
He remains in jail and faces several felony charges, including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and interfering with Texas military forces, Williams said.
Harris was found to have three pistol magazines and other ammunition in his possession, however, the soldiers were unarmed.
“Some were so young, I thought they may have been part of an ROTC detachment,” Williams told the Post.
Harris allegedly took up the pursuit soon after the soldiers departed an armory in Lubbock with the vaccine supplies in tow. After they stopped for drinks at a highway gas station, Harris was hot on the trail, police said.
The Department of Homeland Security has requested that Harris be held as potential federal charges are weighed.
The incident remains under investigation.
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