Drive-by shooting at Nevada Walmart leaves one dead

Scene of shooting at Walmart, near Reno, Nevada

Occurred January 27, 2013.

A drive-by shooting on tribal land, next to a casino near Reno, Nevada, has left one person dead.

The FBI is now investigating.

From an article:

Reno Police say it happened around 12:45 a.m. outside the Walmart on Second Street by the Grand Sierra Resort. 

Police say one person was shot and taken to the hospital. Reno Police confirm the victim later died. His identity has not been released at this time. 

Information about the shooter, and circumstances surrounding what happened, have not been made available. 

The FBI took over the investigation since this Walmart is located on tribal land. 

A suspect is currently being sought by the FBI.


UPDATE (2/11/13):  The victim's name is Sonny Wayne Lewis, age 25.  Authorities have released a sketch of the killer.


Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Armed robbery by gunman at Pennsylvania Walmart

Occurred January 24, 2013.

A man armed with a gun robbed a Walmart in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

From an article:

Police say the suspect was a black male about 5'4" tall. He was wearing a grey hoodie, faded blue jeans and a grey ski mask. He entered the store, went to the cashier, showed a handgun and demanded money. He received some cash and ran off.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Schools and non-profits rejecting donations from Walton Family Foundation

Because Walmart continues to take a pro-gun stance and continues to sell assault rifles and ammo, a number of school and non-profit programs are returning or considering the return of money that was donated as grants from the Walton Family Foundation, established by Sam Walton, founder of Walmart.

From an article from Huffington Post online:

A number of charter schools that rely on donations from a charity started by Walmart's founder are questioning whether they should continue accepting the funds in the wake of the Newtown shooting. 

The Walton Family Foundation, established by Sam Walton, has given more money to charter schools than any other private donor, Businessweek reports. But some of those schools are reconsidering whether they should take money from a foundation made up of family members who own more than 48 percent of Walmart, which sells more guns than any other retailer in the U.S. 

The New Media Middle School in Columbus, Ohio –- which has gotten $250,000 in gifts from the foundation -- is one such charter school that doesn’t know if accepting the funds is ethically responsible after a gunman took the lives of 20 students and six faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School last month. 

“It’s a dilemma,” Principal Andrew Sweigard told Businessweek. “It’s a moral issue. Can we take funding from a company that is linked to a potential disaster in our school? Do we want to associate ourselves with guns?” 

Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg declined to address the pointed concerns raised by charter schools, Businessweek reported.

Also listed in the article, besides that Ohio charter school, are a charter school in Chicago and a soup kitchen in Arizona.  The soup kitchen actually received more donations BECAUSE they declined the donation from Walmart.

All the shootings (at least 53 in 2012!) and gun-related crimes (at least 21 other incidents in 2012) that happen at Walmart stores certainly seem to lend credence to the idea that Walmart's pro-gun stance is destructive to their mission.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Armed robbery of ammunition at a Colorado Walmart

Scene of armed robbery at Longmont Walmart

Occurred January 22, 2013.

A 19-year old man, Kevin Aguirre, tried to buy ammunition at a Walmart in Longmont, Colorado.  When he was denied due to being too young, he returned with a gun and threatened the clerk and a customer, then fled with a box of stolen ammo.

Minutes later, police arrived and, after Aguirre threatened suicide, captured him.  Aguirre was also being tried for unrelated pedophilic sex crimes prior to the incident.

From an article, which focuses on the endangered customer, Army veteran Chris White:

White said the employees told him he was too young to buy bullets and the young man walked away briefly, only to return moments later with a gun and demand the ammunition. 

"I am a veteran," White said. "You point a weapon at me, I take it seriously." 

Police arrested Kevin Aguirre on suspicion of the robbery at 9:15 p.m. at a mobile home park on the 1400 block of South Collyer Street, where he had a standoff with officers while threatening suicide. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery and three counts of felony menacing in the robbery, according to reports. 

Police reported that Aguirre was despondent over an unrelated crime he was accused of committing. Police arrested him on suspicion of sexual assault on a child with a pattern of abuse on Tuesday night, as well. According to reports, he is accused of committing sexual acts with a younger family member, beginning when she was 5. He is scheduled for filing of charges Friday in Boulder County Court. 

White said the robber at Walmart pointed the gun at him, the clerk and the assistant manager while demanding a box of ammunition. One of the Walmart employees complied with his command.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

15-year old New Mexico teen who killed five family members had intended on mass shooting at Walmart

Shooter Nehemia Griego, age 15

A 15-year old boy, Nehemiah Griego, used an AR-15 assault rifle to shoot his two parents and three younger siblings in the head, killing them.  He then loaded up his car with his weapons and intended to drive to a local Walmart for a mass shooting.  His father was a pastor and prison minister.

From an article:

Authorities believe a 15-year-old New Mexico teen accused of shooting his parents and three younger siblings to death over the weekend planned to drive to a nearby Wal-Mart, kill more people there and eventually die in a shootout with police, the Albuquerque Journal reports. 

Nehemiah Griego packed loaded weapons, including an assault rifle, into the family car in preparation for the alleged attack, according to the newspaper. 

But before he could carry out his plan, the teen reportedly called and related his crime to a friend who convinced him to meet at Calvary Chapel. 

According to the Journal, Griego stayed at the church for hours before telling a security guard his family had been killed. The guard drove the teenager home and notified police upon seeing the crime scene. 

Investigators trying to piece together what led to the violence late Saturday night found several guns, including an AR-15 assault rifle and a .22 caliber pistol, Bernalillo County Sheriff Dan Houston said Sunday. The owner of the weapons has not been determined.  

Griego was arrested following the shootings at the residence in a rural area southwest of downtown Albuquerque, the sheriff's department said. He was charged with two counts of murder and three counts of child abuse resulting in death. 

Authorities identified the victims as Greg Griego, 51, his wife Sara Griego, 40, and three of their children: a 9-year-old boy, Zephania Griego, and daughters Jael Griego, 5, and Angelina Griego, 2. 

Nehemiah Griego had never been in trouble with the law, according to state officials. The state's child welfare agency has no record of any contacts with the 15-year-old or his family, spokesman Bob Tafoya said Monday. 

A records check by the Department of Children, Youth and Families also indicated the youth "had no involvement with the juvenile justice system whatsoever," Tafoya said.

Luckily, that friend convinced him to instead go to a local church, where the teen eventually surrendered.

Where did the boy get his AR-15 assault rifle?  Did the family purchase it at the Walmart?  Walmart sells five different types of assault rifles.

Why did the boy want to target Walmart, of all places?  Hmmm.....

Could he have been inspired by this previous plot to shoot up a Walmart?

(related: there had been a gang-related shooting at an Albuquerque Walmart last February).

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

UPDATE (1/23/13):  According to a follow-up article, the boy got the gun by raiding his parents' closet, where the guns and ammo were not apparently locked up, while his mother slept.  He killed her first, then killed his three younger siblings because they were upset, then ambushed his father when he got home from an overnight shift at a mission.  The article confirms his intent to shoot up random people at a Walmart, and to die at the hands of police, but instead he went to a church to meet his younger girlfriend.  He may have been interested in killing her parents, too.  When interviewed by the police, it became apparent to them that the boy was very wrapped up in his love of extremely violent video games.

Man found shot to death behind West Virginia Walmart

Occurred January 17, 2013.

A man has been found shot to death behind a Walmart in Martinsburg, West Virginia, in what might have been a suicide, with a single shot to the side of his head and a .38 revolver found next to him.

From an article:

Thursday January 17, 2013, at approximately 9:00am, Martinsburg Police officers responded to the  Wal-Mart on Foxcroft Avenue, in reference to a man down with a firearm beside him.  Police officials say that upon arrival, officers found a white male lying between stacks of recycled debris with a Ruger .38 revolver next to him.  Their preliminary investigation determined that the decedent had sustained a single gunshot to the side of the head and that one round had been fired from the handgun lying next him.  It was also determined that the decedent had been lying in the position he was found in for several hours. 

The man who has yet to be identified, is described as an older balding white male over 50 years of age with white hair.  Police say that they believe the decedent had a physical impairment to his left hand.  He was wearing a red polo shirt, black jeans a grey zipped hooded sweatshirt, a fanny pack and had black shoes on. 

An autopsy is scheduled to be performed at the Charleston Medical Examiner’s Office on January 18, 2013.

As of 1/18/13, the shooting has been ruled a suicide, but the deceased has not yet been identified.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster. 

Former Walmart security employee arrested for stealing guns from Walmart

On Christmas Day, 2012, six guns were stolen from a Walmart in Los Lunas, New Mexico, when the store was closed, as I previously reported here at Walmart Shootings.

Four men have now been arrested, and all six guns have been recovered.

One of the men involved in the robbery was a former Walmart security employee.  The other three were juveniles.

From an article:

Los Lunas police say they have recovered six guns stolen from a local Wal-Mart in a Christmas Day burglary, and four people have been arrested. 

Twenty-three-year-old Emilio Larsen of Albuquerque, a former employee who worked in Wal-Mart's security department, is being held in the Valencia County jail on charges that include breaking and entering, aggravated burglary, criminal damage, conspiracy and tampering with evidence. 

Police Chief Roy Melnick says three juveniles will also be charged in connection with the burglary. Two of them are accused of taking items from the store and the third allegedly acted as a lookout. 

Among the items stolen were five Remington rifles, a Remington shotgun and a game console. 

Melnick says it was important to recover the guns so they would not fall into the wrong hands.

Walmart might want to be more careful who they hire for security.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster. 

Man shot and another robbed at gunpoint at Georgia Walmart

Occurred January 12, 2013.

Two male assailants shot a man in the leg, in the parking lot of a Walmart outside of Lilburn, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta.  Then they accosted another man, robbing him at gunpoint of his wallet, cell phone, and his car.

From an article:

The suspects, both black males, were armed with a semi-automatic handgun, possibly a .40 calibre Glock, according to a police statement. 

They approached two separate shoppers in the parking lot, shooting one, a 35-year-old male, in the leg when "he did not understand their demands and continued to walk towards the store," the report said. 

The other victim, a 20-year-old male, handed over his keys, wallet and cell phone. The suspects took his car and left the scene. That vehicle is described as a blue 2010 Honda Fit with Georgia tag PFE8356. 

The incident happened just outside Lilburn at the Walmart located at 1825 Rockbridge Road in Stone Mountain. 

Gwinnett Police reviewed Walmart security footage and found that the assailants arrived in a red Honda Civic that had been taken in a carjacking Friday in Atlanta. It was located at the shopping center and impounded.  

The shooting victim was transported to Gwinnett Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. Gwinnett County Police are asking for anyone with information about this crime to call  770-513-5700.

This is the fourth shooting at a Walmart so far in 2013, and it's only been the first two weeks of the year!

(an additional article with more details on these incidents)

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Dispute turns into deadly shooting at Oklahoma Walmart

Scene of shooting at Glenpool Walmart

Occurred October 11, 2012.

An argument between two groups of people in the parking lot of the Walmart in Glenpool, Oklahoma.  The people got into their cars and move a few hundred yards away before starting to shoot at each other.  One man died from his injuries a little later at a trailer park.

From an initial report:

Glenpool Police Chief Dennis Waller told KRMG at the scene that the confrontation began at the Walmart Super Center, just southwest of W. 121st Street and U.S. 75 in Glenpool shortly before 9:30 p.m. 

He says the argument involved two men in one vehicle and three men in another, described as a small, blue car. 

The fight moved a few hundred yards south and west, near the Glenpool Conference Center and at that point evidence at the scene indicates that the victim exited the vehicle. 

It's unknown at this point in the investigation whether anyone else left their cars. 

That's when one of the men from the blue car produced a semi-automatic handgun and opened fire, striking the victim at least once. 

Waller says the victim and his friend got back in their vehicle and left the scene, traveling to Barnhart Trailer Court on 141st Street, west of the city limits in Creek County. 

Either en route to the trailer park or shortly after arriving, the gunshot victim died from his wounds.

According to a follow-up article, the victim is Mark Coble, 31.  The shooter, Robert Andrew Whitt, 27, has now been arrested.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man shot dead by police after shoplifting BB gun in Phoenix Walmart

Scene of shooting at Phoenix Walmart

Occurred January 5, 2013.

A man was witnessed by store security as he used a knife to cut open the packaging for a BB gun and then tried to shoplift it, in a Walmart in Phoenix, Arizona.  When police arrived and approached him, he pulled out a gun from his waistband and aimed it at them, and they shot him dead.

The man, 39-year-old Chuckie Stowers, was known to panhandle outside the Walmart and was found with the registration of a recently-stolen car on him.

It hasn't been revealed whether the gun that was pointed at police was the same BB gun that he had just stolen.

A news video.

From an article:

Just before 4 p.m. Saturday, a Walmart loss prevention officer saw Stowers on the closed circuit store cameras removing a BB gun pistol from its original packing using a knife with a 4- to 5-inch blade, police said. 

"They were watching him cut items open from packaging and conceal those items," said Phoenix police Sgt. Trent Crump. 

Investigators said the three officers spotted Stowers leaving the store. 

"As soon as he got past the doors, the suspect turned toward the officers and reached into his waistband, pulled out a black handgun and pointed it at the officers," said Crump. 

Walmart shopper Pauline Viselli tells CBS 5 News she was in the store when the shots rang out outside in the parking lot. 

Viselli said the entire store was evacuated. 

Officers found the registration of a stolen vehicle in one of his pockets.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Six guns stolen from a New Mexico Walmart on Christmas Day

Scene of gun theft at Los Lunas Walmart

Occurred December 25, 2012.  

At 2AM on Christmas Day, three men broke into the Walmart in Los Lunas, New Mexico, and stole six firearms, including five hunting rifles and a shotgun, as well as laptop computers and MP3 players, loaded them into shopping carts, and fled with the items.  In all they got $30,000 worth of goods.

Here is a news video on the heist.

Here is a gallery of the stolen firearms.

Police are now offering to buy back the firearms.

From an article:

The Los Lunas Police Department is even willing to pay to get its hands on the five rifles and a shotgun by reimbursing anyone what they paid for the guns if they bought them without knowing they were stolen. 

In return, investigators are asking for any information on these thieves. 

Several of the 40 security cameras at the Walmart recorded the crooks taking the guns out of their cases at the Walmart on State Route 6 at about 2 a.m. on Christmas. 

But even with all that footage, the three people concealed their identities with dark clothes and hoods. 

The trio loaded up three shopping carts with equipment before heading out to a white pickup truck, which leads police to believe a fourth suspect was the driver. 

Los Lunas Police Chief Roy Melnick says the crooks took hunting rifles, not assault weapons. 

“There were assault rifles at Walmart,” the chief says. “These suspects looked at them, took them out of the case and then put them on the ground. They didn't want them. 

"That tells me they have specific person or persons to purchase these guns, probably hunters.” 

The rifles are Model 700 bolt-action Remingtons, three of them .30-06 caliber and one .270 caliber.  The shotgun is a .20-gauge semiautomatic Remington Model 11-87.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

UPDATE (1/14/13):  Four people have been arrested for the robberies, including a former Walmart security employee.  Six guns have been recovered.

Armed robbery at gunpoint in California Walmart

Occurred January 3, 2013.

There was an armed robbery inside a Walmart in Fremont, California.  Luckily no one was harmed.  The criminals got away.

From an article (at the end):

Two men stole money from the Walmart located at 40580 Albrae St. at gunpoint before fleeing in a brand new black BMW with large chrome rims. The car was seen fleeing toward the freeway.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

So far, 85,000 people have signed the petition for Walmart to stop selling assault rifles

Earlier, I had posted about a petition by SumOfUs.org to urge Walmart to stop selling assault rifles, after the massacre in Newtown.

So far, 85,000 people have done so, according to an article:

The petition, on action.SomeOfUs.org, urges Walmart to stop selling the Bushmaster AR-15 -- the high-powered rifle linked to the Newtown shooting -- as well other assault weapons. 

Walmart pulled the listing Bushmaster Patrolman's Carbine M4A3 Rifle from its webstore very shortly after the Sandy Hook shooting, but the company still sold similar rifles in 1,200 of its stores as of December 19, according to Bloomberg. 

Walmart is the largest seller of guns and ammunition in the country, according to the Wall Street Journal. The retailer didn't immediately return a request for comment from The Huffington Post.
Walmart brought guns back to almost half of its stores in 2011, the WSJ reported at the time, after the chain pulled them from its shelves in all but a third of its stores in 2006. Bloomberg reported five days after the Newtown shooting that assault rifles appeared to be out of stock at Walmart stores in five states.

If you haven't done so yet, I urge you to sign the petition.  Let Walmart know that the sale of lethal weapons isn't tolerated, particularly assault rifles.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Walmart bans lots of things, from books to CDs, it deems unacceptable, but still sells assault rifles

Huffington Post online has just published "12 Items Walmart Apparently Considers More Dangerous Than Assault Weapons". Check it out.  Books, CDs (like this one), the morning after pill, and even a pregnant Barbie.

But it still sells guns and ammo, including 5 assault rifle models, despite the recent mass murders using them.  Apparently those aren't dangerous at all (despite being purpose-made to kill), and are in line with their company mission (despite at least 53 shooting incidents in 2012).

Shame on Walmart!  Sign this petition now, to stop further sale of assault rifles by them.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man shot with pellet gun in Walmart parking lot; victim of hate crime

Suspect leaving the Lutz Walmart

Occurred January 2, 2013.

It's just the beginning of the year, but already there has been another shooting at a Walmart.

A man and his girlfriend were in a Walmart parking lot in Lutz, Florida, just north of Tampa Bay, when a man approached them.  Shouting racist slurs, he shot the man in the cheek with a pellet gun.

From an article:

Pasco County deputies are searching for a suspect in what is being called a hate crime that occurred early Wednesday morning. 

According to the sheriff's office, a man and his girlfriend were leaving the Walmart on Land O' Lakes Boulevard at about 3 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 2, when the suspect began harassing them in the parking lot because he believed the man was from the Middle East. 

As the man and his girlfriend were approaching their car, the suspect came up to them and made racial slurs about the man being with a white woman, then shot the man in the face with a pellet gun in the cheek area at least twice, Pasco Sheriff's Office Spokesman Doug Tobin said.
"We are looking at it as a hate crime," Tobin said. 

Sheriff Chris Nocco said the agency is dedicating all of its resources to finding the suspect.
"That will not be tolerated in Pasco County," Nocco said.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

UPDATE (1/3/13):  Local Muslim leaders are offering a $1000 reward for anyone who helps catch the suspect.

UPDATE (1/4/13):  The full video footage of the suspect and the shooting have been released.

A suspect has been arrested, named Daniel P. Quinnell:

The victim and his girlfriend were headed toward their car early Wednesday in the Walmart parking lot at 1575 Land O' Lakes Boulevard when a man approached them. He asked the victim if he was Muslim or from the Middle East. The victim said no. But the man shot him twice at close range with a gas-propelled pellet gun while saying "N - - - - - with a white girl."
The attacker fired more than 20 pellets, deputies said. 

When deputies released surveillance video and still photographs of the attacker earlier this week, the sheriff's office received several tips, including one that the man was staying at a hotel near State Road 54 and Interstate 75 in Pasco. 

Detectives identified the attacker as Daniel P. Quinnell. He was arrested at the hotel and faces aggravated battery charges. 

Quinnell was being booked into the Land O' Lakes jail early Friday.

His mother was the one who turned him in.

UPDATE (1/7/13):  It turns out that the victim,  Cameron Mohammed, was armed with a legal conceal carry permit and handgun, but chose not to use it, in part because there were other people behind the suspect who might have gotten hit by the crossfire:

The opportunities for self defense or vengeance were plenty. He could have pulled out the .45-caliber Taurus pistol right then and put a bullet in his assailant. He could have done so when Daniel Quinnell craned his gun at point-blank range and squeezed the trigger for the first of 20 times. Or even before the attack, when deputies say Quinnell approached Mohammed and his girlfriend from behind, yelling racial epithets. Any of those instances would have been defensible in court. 

But Mohammed, 24, kept his gun in the holster. Because his attacker used a pellet gun. Mohammed's was real. 

"I don't know. I just couldn't do it," Mohammed said, recovering at his Tampa home two days after the attack. "I couldn't blow this guy away for something he could change later in life. I'm not going to decide this man's fate."

He also isn't either a Muslim or from the Middle East:

Cameron Mohammed isn't Muslim or Middle Eastern. His parents are from Trinidad. He was born and raised in Tampa. Raised Catholic. He has had a concealed weapons permit for five years. 

Friday afternoon, in the living room of the family's West Tampa home, he described the shooting. He wore the same black hooded jacket he was wearing when he was shot and pointed out the blood spots dried between the fibers. 

On Monday, he is scheduled to have the pellets — one embedded in his forehead over his left eyebrow, the other just under his jaw — removed. He can't look upward without a sharp pain over his left eye. 

He is taking a couple of semesters off from school at Hillsborough Community College and has recently been working at a friend's auto body shop. 

He said he has been dating his girlfriend for a year and a half. He said she told him that night that Quinnell was staring at her menacingly as they pulled into the parking lot to get some food.

.