1st appearance set for Shelby shooting suspect

The Camp Shelby Joint Forces training center immediately went into a heightened state of alert.

Alfred Baria was arrested Wednesday in connection with both incidents, one on Tuesday night and another Wednesday morning. Authorities pulled over Baria and took him into custody for questioning. Baria told authorities he can make his maroon pickup truck backfire on command. That’s a story backed up by his son in an interview Wednesday evening with The Associated Press.

Baria’s son said concerns that his father shot at the soldiers are baseless, saying his father’s truck frequently backfires.

Alfred Baria Jr. said his dad’s pickup explodes every time someone shifts gears and steps on the gas.

Authorities interpreted the container as a possible pipe bomb.

Alfred Baria is facing two felony charges for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and four misdemeanor charges for disturbing the peace of a person.

“One suspected destructive device was found and analyzed and X-rayed and was found not to be a destructive device at all”, Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Dale Smith told reporters.

About 11:35 a.m. Tuesday, two soldiers training on Peret Tower Road, which is not on the premises of Camp Shelby, reported that they thought shots had been fired in their direction.

The Barias’ mobile home is in a remote area of Perry County bordered by miles of pine trees in the DeSoto National Forest and Camp Shelby.

Investigators are curious one of importance after footages have been supposedly dismissed a minute sequential daytime near an army site in the southern part of Mississippi, authorities said Wednesday.

At Camp Shelby, guards at all base entrances were armed under a recent order from Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant, Lt. Col. Christian Patterson said.

The investigation is ongoing and there is no confirmation as to whether the incident involved was a shooting at all.

It is still not clear if there was any actual gunfire or if the soldiers at Camp Shelby were in any way targets, officials said.