James Thomas Hall, a 20-year-old Mississippi State University student from Huntsville, Ala., was arrested in Connell, Wash., on a felony second-degree assault charge on Saturday.
David Lindley, Starkville Police Department chief of police, said a traffic stop was conducted on Hall’s vehicle after he ran a stop sign. He said Hall had a sawed off shotgun in his lap and told the officer he planned to shoot him when the officer approached the vehicle.
A news release from the Starkville Police Department stated a suicide note was found in Hall’s vehicle.
Lindley said Hall is currently incarcerated in Franklin County in Washington and will face a court appearance in Washington for the second-degree assault charge.
The news release said Hall was on the National Crime Information Center list for just over 24 hours before Starkville police were notified Hall was in police custody in Connell.
Lindley said Starkville police were able to track Hall’s movements across the country while he was on the National Crime Information Center list.
“Out of concern for his welfare, we essentially tracked his movements and followed him west across the continental United States, and then we were contacted by the state of Washington authorities and said he had been arrested there,” he said.