Army lieutenant steals armored personnel carrier, leads police on chase

Update: Army LT who stole APC was high on drugs and armed with a pistol

A disgruntled junior officer in Virginia is certainly going to be the subject of safety briefs after stealing an Armored Personnel Carrier from a National Guard base and leading law enforcement on a sixty-mile chase through the state.

The male suspect -identified only as a Virginia Army National Guard Lieutenant assigned to a Fort Pickett engineering battalion- took the M113 Armored Personnel Carrier from an armory in Nottoway County Tuesday evening.

Quickly attracting the attention of law enforcement, the lieutenant led them on a 60-mile chase at speeds up to 40+ MPH.

The incident was filmed by multiple people and lasted over two hours- to give perspective, some footage was taken in daylight conditions, while footage near the end of the chase took place in darkness.

Bystanders seemed puzzled as the unarmed and obsolete troop transport pushed down highways and through city streets, roaring loudly with its 275 HP Detroit Diesel engine.

“It just seemed like something out of a movie. I heard a large vehicle, it sounded like a tank, but it was moving pretty fast,” local Brian Wingert told a CBS News affiliate.

The Lieutenant eventually abandoned his steed and took off on foot, with law enforcement capturing him shortly after.

The situation could have been much worse- in 1995, Army veteran Shawn Nelson stole an M60A3 Patton Main Battle Tank in San Diego, destroying cars, fire hydrants and other property before being gunned down by police officers that managed to get the tank’s hatch open.

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