Man robs woman at gunpoint in Amarillo Walmart parking lot

Occurred May 29, 2013.


A woman was in her car in a Walmart parking lot in Amarillo, Texas, when 23-year old John Martin Vasquez threatened her with a gun, then took her purse and cell phone.

He was later arrested.

From an article:

At 2:52 p.m. on Wednesday, officers responded to reports of a personal robbery at the Walmart, where a woman had been approached by Vasquez while sitting in her vehicle, police said. Vasquez demanded her purse, and he displayed a weapon when she refused, police said. He then took her purse and cellphone, and left the scene in a Honda Civic, police said. 

About 3 p.m., officers with the Narcotics Unit stopped a vehicle matching the description of the Honda, and detained two men and a woman, who were transported to the police department for questioning, police said. 

Investigators secured a search warrant for the vehicle, and discovered evidence related to this case, police said.

Vasquez is also a leading suspect in another armed robbery at a different store that same day.

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Gunman robs Walmart in West Palm Beach, Florida

Occurred May 30, 2013.

Armed suspect robbing West Palm Beach Walmart

A man, armed with a black revolver, entered a Walmart in West Palm Beach, Florida, and demanded money.  He then fled the scene.

From an article:

Authorities say the incident happened at 8:43 a.m., when the suspect, armed with a black revolver, entered the Walmart Supercenter in the 400 block of Belvedere Road, approached the teller and demanded all the money from the register. 

The teller complied and put the money in a cereal box carried by the suspect, authorities say. 

The suspect fled the scene in a black 4-door vehicle, possibly a Nissan. 

The teller described the suspect as a dark-skinned male in his early 40's. He was last seen wearing glasses, a red and black windbreaker, khaki pants, a white ball cap and a white undershirt.

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Man steals pellet gun from Pennsylvania Walmart then shoots employees with it

Occurred May 30, 2013.

Scene of shooting at Bedford County Walmart

A man went into a Walmart in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, and stole a "CO2 pellet gun."  An employee saw him, and followed him.  The man, Christopher McGillick, threatened her, then, when she followed him into the parking lot, opened fire on her and another employee with the gun, hitting them several times.

McGillick was known to the Walmart, since he frequented the store and his brother had worked there.  He was tracked down and arrested.  Two pellet guns were found in his possession.

From an article and news video:

According to court documents, an employee of the Walmart said she noticed McGillick attempting to steal a CO2 pellet gun a little after midnight. When she started to follow him around the store,police said, he confronted her and threatened to punch her in the face. Police said McGillick then left the store as the same employee followed him out to make sure he didn't take anything with him, but that's when he got into his car, pulled out a pellet gun and started shooting. 

Police say he hit two employees: The one who followed him out was hit four times, and another, standing in the doorway, was hit at least once.  

McGillick was able to get away but not before one of the employees took down his license plate. State police were able to catch up with him a short time later at a motel in Breezewood, where they found two pellet guns in his car, they said.

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Shoplifters exchange gunshots with police in Tennessee Walmart parking lot

Occurred May 20, 2013.

Scene of shooting at Soddy Daisy Walmart

Three shoplifters were spotted in a Walmart in Soddy Daisy, Tennessee.  Police were called.  When police confronted the three people in the parking lot, gunshots were exchanged.

During the exchange, one suspect was captured, and the other two suspects pinned a policeman to his car with their vehicle.  They escaped, but were later apprehended and arrested.

From an article and news video:

Police say officers were called to the Walmart in Soddy Daisy on three suspected shoplifters. 

Officers arrived before the shoplifters left. They confronted Anthony H Cuevas when he exited the store. 

He fled to a vehicle with two other passengers inside and jumped in. Officers pulled him out and took him into custody. 

The passenger, Michael Rankin, got into the driver's seat and tried to flee. Officers tried to pull him from the vehicle, but one of the officers, Officer Craig Winters, was dragged and pinned against his patrol car.  

Shots were fired at the vehicle.  

"I hear what sounded like 2 shots fired, go off," says witness Doug Cherry. "Course I started flinching. Then I seen this car, I started looking and I seen this car run across through here speeding and a Soddy cop right behind it." 

A chase ensued and officers followed them to Red Bank, into Chattanooga, before losing sight of the vehicle around I-24 in the Rossville, Georgia area. 

The car was spotted and followed. It ran off the road in the Rinngold Road area of East Ridge. 

Rankin was arrested and charged with shoplifting, evading arrest, aggravated assault, and attempted murder. 

A third suspect, Kelly Bailey, is also in custody. Her charged have not been released.
Officer Winters was taken to Erlanger Hospital. He has since been released.

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Man steals BB gun from Pennsylvania Walmart then uses it to rob the store of prescription drugs

Occurred May 21, 2013.


30-year old Adam Trax went into a Walmart in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, pulled a realistic-looking BB gun out of its package, then used the gun to rob the store of prescription medicines.

From an article:

According to state police, who used store surveillance cameras to piece together what happened, Trax went into the Unity Walmart about 8 p.m. on May 21 and walked around for a half-hour to 45 minutes.

He put on a flannel shirt and ball cap, walked to the back of the store near the sporting goods, and took a BB gun out of the package and stuck it in his belt, Trooper Limani said. 

Trax then went to the pharmacy counter, showed the gun, and demanded Oxycodone and pain-relief patches, Trooper Limani said. Police won't say how much he stole before leaving the store in a vehicle.

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Man pulls concealed weapon in response to altercation at checkout in an Arkansas Walmart

Occurred May 15, 2013.


A shopper in a Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Walmart became impatient with how long it was taking the customer in front of him to check out, so he hit him.  The other customer then pulled out a concealed handgun and threatened him with it.

Panic ensued among shoppers.

An off-duty policeman who was shopping responded, initially confusing the two men.

From an article:

One suspect was in custody on battery charges Wednesday evening after an alleged altercation at the Walmart Supercenter in Pine Bluff.

The suspect is accused of hitting the person in front of him in line, Pine Bluff Police Department spokeswoman Regina VonTungeln said. He had become impatient and thought the other customer was taking too long. 

The other man involved in the incident allegedly pulled out a gun in response to being hit, but he had a concealed weapon carry license and was released pending further investigation, VonTungeln said. The names of those involved in the incident were not available Wednesday evening.
 

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Gunman robs bank in North Carolina Walmart

Occurred May 22, 2013.


A man armed with a gun went to a bank inside a Walmart in Greensboro, North Carolina, robbed them, and fled on a bike.

From an article:

A man armed with a black handgun entered the bank and demanded money, Greensboro police said. After getting an undetermined amount of money, the man left on a bicycle going south in the parking lot toward West Wendover Avenue. 

The man was described as black and being about 6 feet tall with a medium build. He was wearing a black hat, black pants and a blue dress shirt, police said.

This may be the same Walmart bank that saw another armed robbery almost a year ago.

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Walmart sells lethal guns for kids, yet led the fight to ban candy cigarettes

From Keystone Sporting Arms "Kids Corner" gallery for their Crickett guns

Every day I see report after report of children killed by guns.  All too often, it is because a gun owner allowed their lethal weapon to be within reach of a child.

Most sane people understand that children are naturally curious, impetuous, and unable to fully consider the ramifications of their actions.  That's why there are age limits for so many things, such as entry into bars, driving, voting, purchasing liquor, or buying cigarettes.

Yet, for some bizarre reason, a certain subset of the population thinks that children should nonetheless be given access to guns.  REAL guns.  And not just given access, but even ownership.

It is to this subset that certain gun manufacturers actively market their lethal weapons for children.

A company called Keystone Sporting Arms manufactures and sells small rifles, including the .22 "Cricket", specifically to arm small children.  And by "small" I mean really, really young, like ages 4 or 5.  With nifty colors like pink to attract the children.  See them HERE or HERE.  It's sickening.  They market them with a slogan of "My first rifle."

One 5-year old boy recently used his "first rifle" (a .22 Cricket) to shoot and kill his 2-year old sister.  Keystone must be so proud.

They sell 60,000 of these guns a year...

And who re-sells these guns for them?  Why, Walmart, of course!  Don't believe me?  Go HERE to see for yourself.

Walmart's product page for a pink .22 Crickett gun for children

As I've pointed out before, Walmart bans all sorts of things that they deem "too dangerous" for children, including books, CDs (such as this one from Sheryl Crow), or even a pregnant Barbie doll.

A really ironic thing about this, as pointed out recently by Nash Riggins at HuffingtonPost.com, is that Walmart had previously been a leader in banning candy cigarette sales to children, understanding that candy cigarettes would break down that wall of prohibition in the mind of a child to smoking real cigarettes later in life.  From Nash's article, refering to the death of that 2-year old girl:

NRA members in Texas have already rationalized the young girl's death by shrugging that these weapons 'aren't toys,' and that it 'comes down to the responsibility of adults' to ensure that serious accidents are avoided. For once, they're absolutely right: guns are not toys, and it's the responsibility of adults everywhere to ensure that children aren't set up to make more fatal mistakes just because their gun-toting parents possess an innate desire to condition their children to adore firearms. After all, if candy cigarettes have been scientifically proven to hurt kids, what the hell do you think cute, pint-sized rifles do to them? Perhaps the next time America's biggest retailer campaigns to ban the sale of certain products in order to keep kids safe, it should look to its own sporting goods section.

Another article quotes the coroner and the 2-year old's grandmother:

“It’s a Crickett,” the coroner for Kentucky’s Cumberland County, Gary White, confirmed. “It’s a little rifle for a kid. The little boy’s used to shooting the little gun. Accidents happen with guns.” The victim’s grieving grandmother, Linda Riddle, said: “It was God’s will. It was her time to go, I guess. I just know she’s in heaven right now and I know she’s in good hands with the Lord.”

But it isn't "God's will" that took that child's life.  It was a bullet, from a gun, bought by the boy's parents, sold by Walmart and other distributors, for a gun manufacturer that specifically markets guns to little children.

Walmart will gladly stop the use of paring knives in all its bakeries because of one stupid mistake that almost endangered one child's life, but they will gladly continue selling guns for small children.

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Shooting wounds one in Indiana Walmart parking lot

Occurred May 19, 2013.

Scene of shooting at Hammond Walmart

There has been a shooting in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in Hammond, Indiana, following a vehicular crash involving three cars.  Multiple shots were fired, injuring one woman.

The Walmart never closed.

From an article:

The shooting happened in the store's parking lot at 1100 Fifth Ave. about 2:37 p.m. following a crash, police said. It was unclear if the motorists knew each other. 

A 22-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet and has non-life-threatening injuries, Hammond police Lt. Richard Hoyda said. Another unidentified person was treated at a local hospital for injuries suffered in the crash. 

Hoyda said officers found multiple shell casings on the ground.  

Officers were on the scene sorting out the details of how the shooting unfolded, Hoyda said Sunday afternoon. It appears one of the vehicles drove off toward Chicago. 

No arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. 

An employee of the store said the Walmart Supercenter remains open while police continue investigating the shooting.

(a related article)

In December of 2009, there was another shooting at a Walmart in Hammond (maybe the same Walmart?), where two suspects shot and murdered a man in his van, in the parking lot.

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Armed shoplifters threaten Walmart security guards with gun in Kansas

Occurred April 8, 2013.


A group of shoplifters, including three adults and a child, were caught by security at a Wichita, Kansas Walmart store.  When confronted, one of the adult shoplifters pulled out a concealed handgun and threatened the security guards before fleeing with the stolen merchandise.

Luckily, no shots were fired.

From an article:

Wichita police say a group of alleged shoplifters, including one who reportedly was armed, whose photos were posted Tuesday on the agency’s social media pages have been identified, thanks to phone calls from the public. 

Messages from the department published on Facebook and Twitter late Wednesday morning thanked the public for their help in the month-old case. Police on Tuesday used social media to spur leads in the April 8 theft and aggravated assault in which a man wielding a handgun threatened two Wal-Mart security guards before fleeing the store with two other adults and a child. 

No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, Wichita police Detective Chad Beard said. The case remains under investigation, he said. 

The theft occurred around 10:20 p.m. on April 8 at the Wal-Mart at 6110 W. Kellogg Drive. According to police and a surveillance photo, a man wearing a gray shirt, black jacket and pants allegedly pulled the weapon after the guards confronted the group when they tried to leave the store with stolen merchandise. They then fled in a silver four-door Pontiac, according to police. 

Among items stolen were men’s tennis shoes, a pocket knife and a pump action BB gun, according to a police report.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/05/14/2802766/police-seek-publics-help-in-identifying.html#storylink=cpy

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Man shot in the back while fleeing into Indiana Walmart

Occurred May 6, 2013.

Scene of shooting at Evansville Walmart

(Updated -- see below)
Two men, 24-year old Isaiah Green and 30-year old Anthony Tavon Burns got into an altercation, which ended in the parking lot of a Walmart in Evansville, Indiana.  When Green went to his car and retrieved a gun, Burns tried to flee into the Walmart but was shot in the lower back, from behind.

An off-duty police officer, who had been in a check-out lane, responded to help Burns.  Green was later arrested at a nearby apartment complex.

Burns was taken to a local hospital and will apparently live.

From an article:

Cullum says the victim, Anthony Tavon Burns, 30, attempted to get away from the suspect by going inside the store at the Market entrance, but he was shot in the back as he was running. 

Burns was taken to Deaconess Hospital. His condition is not being released.
Officers say Green and another person left in a vehicle soon after the shooting. 

There was an officer shopping at the checkout who heard the commotion and went outside to secure the crime scene and get information on the vehicles. 

Another officer located the getaway vehicle in the Arbors at Eastland on Old Boonville Highway. That's where Green was taken into custody. 

Investigators say he went to an apartment early Monday morning to drop off some belongings. 

Cullum tells 14 News that police have heard two different stories of how it all started last night. The woman in the are with Burns told that Green's car cut them off on the Lloyd and followed them to Walmart, while he says Green told police that the altercation began after Burns stole money from him earlier in the day.   

Cullum says police believe the suspect and victim did know each other prior to the shooting. 

"We're not sure really which version is true, whether it was just a road rage or a robbery, but at this point, it doesn't really matter because the way the incident unfolded at the Walmart, there was no justification for what Mr. Green did. So, he's going to face the same charges regardless of how it all started," Cullum says. 

Green is now in the Vanderburgh County Jail on no bond, facing charges of attempted murder with a firearm and criminal recklessness.

HERE is security camera footage.

A related article, with eyewitness statements.

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UPDATE (11/6/13):  The shooter, Isaiah Green, has plead guilty and been sentenced to 12 years in prison.  The victim had robbed Green earlier in the day, so Green committed the shooting in revenge.

Gunman robs Tulsa Walmart

Occurred May 8, 2013.

A man with a semi-auto handgun successfully robbed a Walmart in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

From an article, with an image of the suspect:

The man entered the Walmart at 2019 E. 81st St. and went to the Money Center, where he showed the teller a black semiautomatic pistol and demanded money. The teller complied, and the man fled in a white or light-colored four-door vehicle.  

The amount of money he fled with was not disclosed.  

Police describe the man as a black, 30 to 37 years old, about 6 feet 1 inch tall and 200 pounds. He was last seen wearing glasses, a black cap, a white button-up long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. 

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Oregon Walmart robbed at gunpoint

Occurred May 10, 2013.

Scene of armed robbery by gunman at Eugene Walmart

A masked man entered a Walmart in Eugene, Oregon, and robbed it at gunpoint, successfully fleeing.

From an article:

The suspect, armed with what he purported to be a firearm, threatened one of the store’s clerks in the middle of hleping [sic] a customer.

When the suspect fled the store, he ran southbound around the east side of Walmart and scaled the chain-link fence separating Walmart from Randy Pape Beltline.  

The suspect dodged Beltline’s westbound rush-hour traffic, climbed over the center divider, dodged the eastbound rush-hour traffic, and entered the front passenger side of an awaiting get-away vehicle. 

Once the suspect entered the SUV the driver fled east on Beltline.

Surveillance footage just minutes prior to the robbery shows the getaway vehicle traveling east on Beltline before slowing and parking on the south shoulder, directly across from where the suspect would later cross the fence and Beltline. 

This is the same Walmart that, a month before, had a man in the parking lot shooting at lights.


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Armed robbery in South Carolina Walmart parking lot

Occurred April 30, 2013.


A woman was robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Walmart in Anderson, South Carolina, by a man and woman.  The suspects were later captured.

From an article:

Authorities say it happened around 3:30 p.m. at the Liberty Highway store when the victim was robbed at gunpoint. 

They say person got into their vehicle and followed the alleged robbers and gave a description to police, who then responded. 

The driver, a male, jumped out of the car and was arrested at the mall.  A woman was later arrested.

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Gunman robs woman at gunpoint after slashing her tires in Wisconsin Walmart parking lot

Occurred February 6, 2012.


Last year, a man and woman slashed the tire of a woman shopping at a Walmart in Onalaska, Wisconsin.  When the woman came out and discovered the tire, the offenders offered to help her fix the tire as a ruse.  Later, though, they choked the driver, threatened her with a gun and a knife, and robbed her.

Both offenders have since been caught and charged.

From an article:

Jennifer Rondeau-Wilbur, 33, of La Crosse also will serve two years on probation. 

According to court records, the victim exited the Walmart in Onalaska on the night of Feb. 6, 20120 to discover her tire was flat; her passenger, Rondeau-Wilbur, told her a friend would fix the tire in exchange for a ride. 

That man, Jacob Foley, later choked the driver, demanded money and threatened to shoot Rondeau-Wilbur while Kyle Wedekind broke the car window and threatened the driver with a knife, according to complaints. 

Keri Basham, who admitted driving a vehicle for Wedekind, was charged with robbery with use of force as a party to the crime. Rondeau-Wilbur was charged with the same crime on Thursday but pleaded guilty to reduced charges. 

Foley was charged with armed robbery, Wedekind with robbery with use of force.
At the time of the crime, Rondeau-Wilbur was dating Wedekind, who her attorney called manipulating and controlling. 

Probation will allow Rondeau-Wilbur, who apologized for her role in the robbery, to undergo drug treatment.

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Man shot and killed at Tucson Walmart Neighborhood Market

Occurred May 1, 2013.

Scene of deadly shooting at Tucson Walmart Neighborhood Market

25-year old Ricky Lomax was in the parking lot of a Tucson, Arizona Walmart Neighborhood Market when got into a conflict with at least two other men.  Lomax was unarmed, and was shot multiple times.

He made it through the front doors of the Walmart store, collapsed to the floor, and died.  The shooter sped away.

There may have been due to gang activity.

From an article and video:

Tucson Police received the call around 4 a.m., saying a 25-year-old man had been shot in the parking lot on the northeast corner of East Grant Road and North Alvernon Way.  

The victim has been identified as Ricky Lomax. Witnesses told police that Lomax was shot multiple times by one of several individuals with whom he was in an altercation with near the Walmart entrance. 

According to police, Lomax walked through the store entrance and collapsed on the floor. 

TPD officials say the shooting is not the result of a robbery, but could be gang related. 

The suspect left the scene in a white four-door vehicle. The investigation is ongoing.

(a related news article)

According to another article, the suspected shooter, who is being sought, is 27-year old Jeremy Shane Davis.

This is at least the second deadly shooting at a Tucson Walmart (see HERE, from May, 2012).

There was also an armed robbery at a Tucson Walmart in October 2012.

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