ERWIN, Tenn. -- A rifle-toting man wearing combat fatigues strolled into a country-music radio station and asked to go on the air to 'tell the truth.'
The gunman, Lyle Shelton, was taken into custody about four hours after he walked into station WEMB-AM Friday afternoon carrying two rifles.
He halted the broadcast for more than five hours and no one was injured, authorities said.
A newscast was in progress and Shelton allegedly told disc jockey Chuck Ray he wanted to be put on the air.
'He came in and wanted to go on the air,' Ray said. 'He said he wanted to tell the truth for a change. He didn't say what subject.'
Shelton, wearing a camouflage cap and dark glasses, reportedly did not aim the rifle at Ray. No shots were fired, officials said.
'He never really threatened, he just had a concerned look. He didn't point the gun at anybody,' Ray said.
Station owner Jim True, also in the building, grabbed a telephone and called the Unicoi County Sheriff's Department.
Ray and True got Shelton to talk to Sheriff Paul White and as the sheriff tried to reason with the gunman, True and Ray slipped out the back door.
Shelton apparently left the building minutes later unbeknownst to police. A SWAT Team from nearby Johnson City was brought in and ordered to surround the building.
Sheldon was seen walking down State Highway 19/23 south of Erwin late in the afternoon, and surrendered to police. The station resumed its broadcast about 6:45 p.m.
