A soldier has been taken into custody in Richmond, Virginia, after allegedly stealing an armoured personnel carrier (APC) from a military base and leading police on a high-speed chase into the city centre.
Let’s rephrase that: someone allegedly pinched the better part of a tank and hooned it down the freeway, and footage of the incident looks like it was pulled straight out of Grand Theft Auto.
Yoooo 😂 someone stole a fucking tank and there’s a chase going on in dinwiddie lmao pic.twitter.com/ObBThGvVg7
— jimmy. (@ayejimboslice) June 6, 2018
This is INSANE! Someone has hijacked a “Tank-like” vehicle from Fort Pickett and just drove it by our apartment! This is on Broad Street in the Fan. pic.twitter.com/EYfhFux1dk
— Parker Slaybaugh (@ParkerSlayVA) June 6, 2018
Virginia State Police state they were notified just before 8pm that the unarmed National Guard vehicle had left Fort Pickett.
A full-on police chase, which reached speeds of 65km/h, followed the vehicle some 100 kilometres into the heart of Richmond.
After multiple attempts to communicate with the vehicle’s driver, the APC came to a stop near Children’s Hospital of Richmond.
Armored vehicle stolen from Fort Pickett that police chased accross central Virginia is stopped on Broad street between City Hall and Capitol Square pic.twitter.com/VZzPUWbUyR
— Ned Oliver (@nedoliver) June 6, 2018
Brother in law is a SWAT officer in the #RVA area and snapped this picture tonight of the crazy tank like vehicle that fled from Fort Pickett. Chase ended downtown near the Children’s Hospital. pic.twitter.com/4GYy7r0BC6
— C. H. Baird (@CyrusBaird) June 6, 2018
Citing eyewitness reports, Richmond Times-Dispatch reporter Ned Oliver said the man exit the vehicle and walk around before police sent in a dog to bring him down.
Police reportedly tasered the man and took him into custody.
Oliver stated there’s no indication that anyone other than the driver was injured during the incident, and no crashes occurred during the chase.
Police have not yet issued a statement on the motive for the alleged theft, but we demand answers for this incredibly OTT ordeal.
