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| Shoplifter Rios and the scene of the shooting at Conroe Walmart |
(UPDATED -- see below)
As with a shooting at a Walmart two days before, a law-enforcement officer shot and killed a shoplifter at a Texas Walmart, this time in Conroe, Texas.
A 19-year old was witnessed shoplifting. When police arrived, the shoplifter ran, and was pursued into the woods next door. A fight ensued, and the law enforcement officer shot the shoplifter to death.
From an article:
Just before 7:30, dispatch received a call from loss prevention officers inside of the Wal-Mart located at 1407 North Loop 336 West, Sgt. Dorcy Riddle said. The employees said that they were trying to detain Rios for shoplifting but the he was not cooperating.
Rios fought with loss prevention and ran, Riddle said. An off-duty CPD officer observed the struggle and gave chase into the adjacent wooded area near the Interstate 45 feeder road.
The officer continued to pursue Rios into the woods on his own and Rios allegedly began fighting with the officer, Riddle said. The struggle intensified, with Rios allegedly strangling the officer to the point that he believed he was going to pass out.
The officer fired his weapon and struck Rios, killing him, Riddle said.(a related page)
In February, another Walmart shooting occurred at Conroe, perhaps at the same store, where a man shot himself to death over marital issues at the pharmacy.
Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
UPDATE (10/1/13): The shooter, Officer Jason Blackwelder, has been indicted on one count of manslaughter and for tampering with records in the account of what happened that night.
UPDATE (11/27/13): Officer Blackwelder has been indicted on manslaughter. The teen was supposedly choking Blackwelder when he was shot, but forensic analysis shows that Rios was shot in the back of the head. From an article and video:
Conroe police initially said that Rios was fighting with Blackwelder and choking him, which implied self-defense.
Blackwelder was indicted in September by a Montgomery County grand jury on a charge of manslaughter.
The suit was filed in federal court in Houston. The family's attorney, Ryan MacLeod of Beaumont, says that a forensic exam shows Rios was shot in the back of the head.
The suit is asking for unspecified damages. But most of all, the attorney says, the Rios family wants answers about the teenager's death. Rios had just gotten a part-time job as a bank teller and was a student at Lone Star College..
