Schools close amid threat by employee

WASHINGTON, Mo. -- Schools in the eastern Missouri town of Washington were closed Thursday after a school maintenance worker allegedly tried to buy a gun and ammunition while warning of "a lot of shooting."

The Washington Missourian reported 33-year-old Thomas Wingfield of Union was charged Thursday with marijuana possession and is jailed.

Police say a handgun was seized from Wingfield early Thursday after he flourished the weapon at a motorist along Interstate 70 in St. Charles County.

An acquaintance told police Wingfield was recently suspended from his job. The acquaintance says Wingfield tried to buy a gun and 500 rounds of ammunition and made statements about "a lot of shooting" that would occur Thursday morning.