A Mississippi man who stole a plane from the Tupelo airport and threatened to fly into a local Walmart before landing safely in a field hours later has been identified.

UPDATE (11:35 a.m.)

WTVA has also confirmed that Cory Patterson of Shannon, MS was the pilot of a stolen plane that was taken into custody after landing safely in a Benton County field northwest of Tupelo.

Patterson was allegedly employed at the Tupelo airport and threatened to crash into a local Walmart store after the incident began around 5 a.m. on Saturday (Sep. 3) morning.

TPD was notified that a pilot of an airplane (possibly King Air type) was flying over Tupelo. The pilot has made contact with E911 and is threatening to intentionally crash into Wal Mart on West Main

A press conference is scheduled for noon.

UPDATE (11:14 a.m.)

WAPT confirmed that Cory Patterson, the pilot who stole a plane from the Tupelo airport before threatening a Walmart store and flying erratically around Mississippi for hours, is in custody after landing "safely" in a Benton County field.

According to the Daily Journal, law enforcement agencies and local authorities have identified the former airport employee who stole the plane as Cory Patterson of Shannon, MS.

Before safely landing the plane, Cory Patterson posted a now-deleted message on his Facebook page apologizing to his followers before telling his family "goodbye."

Facebook, Cory Patterson
Facebook, Cory Patterson
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According to his Facebook page (also now deleted), Patterson resided in Shannon, MS, and seemingly worked at the airport based on multiple photos posted to the social media platform.

Cory Patterson, Facebook
Cory Patterson, Facebook
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Cory Patterson, Facebook
Cory Patterson, Facebook
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Cory Patterson, Facebook
Cory Patterson, Facebook
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Cory Patterson, Facebook
Cory Patterson, Facebook
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While there were multiple allegations that Patterson may have had some type of political motivation, his Facebook posts show quite the opposite.

Cory Patterson, Facebook
Cory Patterson, Facebook
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Reactions poured in on social media after Patterson's "goodbye" post went viral while the plane was still in the air.

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