Man shot and killed in Dallas Walmart gas station; officer shoots suspect

Occurred August 27, 2014.

Scene of fatal shooting at Dallas Walmart (source)

A man was shot and killed in his car in the parking lot of a Walmart gas station and parking lot in Dallas, Texas.  An off-duty police officer, working security, responded and chased a suspect across the street, firing at him and hitting him.  The suspect then died.

From an article:

According to police and witnesses, the officer was working a security job at a Walmart store when there was a commotion at the gas station in the parking lot just before 1 a.m. between people in two vehicles.

One shot was fired, police say, and one of the vehicles crashed into parked cars. A man was discovered dead inside.

The suspects then took off and the officer chased them into the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant across the street.

The officer says he spotted a gun and told the suspect to put it down, but he didn't listen. The officer fired his weapon and shot the suspect, who took off in his car again -- eventually crashing into parked cars. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police say the officer felt his safety was at risk.

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Shoplifter threatens employees with gun in California Walmart

Occurred August 23, 2014.


24-Year old Jody Wayne Noel was arrested after a standoff at his home.  He had been seen stealing items from a Palm Springs, California, Walmart store, and had threatened employees with a gun when confronted.

From an article:

Shortly after 11 p.m., after more than 4 hours inside the home in the 2900 block of Chuperosa Road, Jody Wayne Noel, surrendered to SWAT officers and was arrested on suspicion of robbery, felon in possession of a firearm, and committing a crime while on bail, according to Palm Springs police Sgt. Mike Villegas, who issued a news release.

Police shut down surrounding roadways Friday evening in an effort to find a man who reportedly stole items from the Walmart, 5601 E. Ramon Road, and brandished a firearm at a security guard as he fled, police said.

That incident occurred at about 4:30 p.m., and witnesses reported seeing him drive away in a gray vehicle.

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Former police officer pulls gun on Wisconsin Walmart employees while trying to steal TV

Occurred August 23, 2014.


A former police officer, Paul Garcheck, was caught trying to steal a television from a Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, Walmart store.  When store employees confronted him, he threatened them with a gun, then fled.

Garcheck was later arrested at his home.

From an article and news video:

Mount Pleasant police said Paul Garcheck, 41, tried tried to steal a television from the Walmart on Oakes Road just after 4 a.m. When workers confronted him, he pulled out a gun, police said.

Police tracked Garchek to a house in Racine, where they arrested him after a brief standoff.

Nobody was hurt.

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Officer fires gun at Oregon Walmart

Occurred August 16, 2014.


After two officers interacted with a suspect in a vehicle at an Albany, Oregon, Walmart store, one of the officer's opened fire.  No one was injured, however.

From an article:

An Albany Police officer fired her weapon Saturday while police were approaching a car in a Walmart parking lot.

No one was hurt during the incident, police officials said.

According to a press release from Albany Police Captain Eric Carter, it was around 11:50 a.m. when "two Albany Police Officers contacted the occupant of a vehicle in the parking lot of (a) Walmart store."

Officer Felicia Sloan, who has been with Albany Police for 8 months, fired her duty weapon during the incident.

Officer Sloan is going on paid administrative leave while the Linn Co. Sheriff's Office and the county District Attorney are investigating the shooting.

The reason for the officer opening fire has not yet been released.

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15-year old shoplifter threatens California Walmart security with gun

Occurred August 15, 2014.


A 15-year old boy was caught shoplifting by a Walmart security employee, in Sacramento, California.  When confronted, the boy pulled out a handgun and threatened the employee, then fled.  He was later captured by law enforcement.

Luckily, no one was harmed.

From an article:

Deputies have arrested a 15-year-old boy suspected of pointing a gun at a Walmart security officer Friday morning.

Lisa Bowman with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department says that the boy was confronted by the security officer of the Florin Road Walmart. The boy had allegedly stolen some items from the store.

During the confrontation, the boy allegedly pulled out a gun from his waistband and pointed it at the guard.

The boy then ran from the area and was able to board an RT bus. The boy got off near 47^th Avenue and Sampson Boulevard and was soon spotted by deputies. He ran again, but was soon caught by deputies along the 6300 block of Sampson Boulevard.

Robbery detectives will be interviewing the boy before he is booked into juvenile hall.

The article doesn't say how the boy got the gun.

Every gun in the hands of a child must first pass through the hands of an adult. 

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Officer shoots attacking pit bull in Texas Walmart parking lot

Occurred August 11, 2014.

Screenshot of video of officer shooting attacking dog (source)

A police officer confronted beggars in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Seguin, Texas.  One of the beggars unleashed a pit bull, and the pit bull attacked the officer.  The officer fired one shot in defense through the dog's neck, injuring it.  The dog will survive.

From an article where the is also a video of the shooting:

Seguin police said when three loiterers begging for money would not leave a Walmart in Seguin, customers complained and that's when police say they approached 39 year old Mykkill Payne. They say Payne had a pitbull tied to a backpack.

"He untied the dog and dropped the leash and the dog I guess protecting his owner turned on the officer," added Payne.

The officer says he tried to back up but felt so threatened that he fired a single shot. The dog was shot in head and amazingly survived. By Tuesday morning, the dog was already walking and active.

That's because police say the pit-mixed was rushed to a vet in New Braunfels who saved his life.

"The bullet went in there and came out underneath here," described Springer. "The dog survived."

Meantime Payne was arrested and charged with criminal trespassing.

As for the fate of the dog?

"I think the owner is going to retrieve the dog."

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Robbers hide in Massachusetts Walmart still wielding gun

Occurred June 28, 2014.


Three robbery suspects who had robbed a local Radio Shack of iPhones, still armed with their handgun, were on the run and ducked into a Walmart store in Lynn.  They were attempting to change clothes when they are arrested.

From an article:

Authorities said the two men and one woman robbed a State Street Radio Shack with weapons and masks before fleeing the scene with about $10,000 worth of merchandise, including an ill-fated iPhone.

That device’s GPS was reportedly used to track the suspects to the Lynnway Walmart, where investigators identified them with surveillance footage. 

A handgun was reportedly recovered from one of the suspects. Officials have not yet released the names of those arrested, citing an ongoing investigation.

The three suspects, two from Lynn and another from Boston, face armed robbery charges.

The Wal-Mart was reportedly briefly evacuated during the incident.

More details, according to another article:

Police chased the vehicle from the Lynnway to the Point of Pines exit in Revere but lost the suspect vehicle, Sheehan reported. One of the store employees, however, allegedly told police he/she had a GPS tracker on his/her phone, which police said they used to track the suspects as the car doubled back down the Lynnway to Walmart.

Police found the vehicle, which they learned Casimir had rented, and watched surveillance footage of the suspects coming into the store, grabbing clothes and running to the bathrooms, Sheehan said.

Police evacuated the Walmart and arrested the suspects. Officers searching the men’s bathroom also found a black revolver and discarded clothes that matched the clothes the suspects were wearing when seen on video entering the store, Sheehan said. Police recovered a box of unopened Apple products and the store employees’ cellphones (which had missed calls from Lynn Police Headquarters as officers had called the phones during the chase) in the car, Sheehan said.

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Couple robbed at gunpoint in parking lot of Mississippi Walmart

Occurred June 26, 2014.


A couple were robbed at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Gulfport, Mississippi.  Sterling Raheem Jules, 22, was arrested for the hold-up, along with a female accomplice, Latoya Jaqueline Batista, 30.

Luckily, no one was injured.

From an article:

A couple told police they were in the parking lot at about 11:31 p.m. when they were approached by an armed black male, who proceeded to rob the man of his wallet and the woman of her purse. He then got into a vehicle driven by another suspect and fled the scene.

During the investigation, Jules and Batista developed as suspects and were entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) as being wanted for armed robbery.

On Wednesday, Gulfport detectives located and arrested Jules and Batista at their residence on Switzer Road.

Is this the same Walmart in Gulfport where a man fired at his ex-girlfriend, in December 2013?

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Argument leads to man wounded by shooting at Kansas Walmart

Occurred August 9, 2014.

Scene of shooting at Kansas City Walmart (source)

An argument led to shots fired, in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter in Kansas City, Kansas.  One man had minor injuries as a result.  The shooter fled in a car.

From an article:

Police officers were called to the Walmart Supercenter at 10824 Parallel Parkway at 4:57 p.m.

According to police, a silver car was waiting in the parking lot for a while when a maroon car pulled up next to it.  Someone in the silver car got into the maroon car.

A conversation between the people in the maroon car escalated into an argument and someone allegedly started firing shots from inside the car. 

A person got out of the maroon car, got into the silver car and drove away, police say.

Authorities said a man was shot and had non-life-threatening injuries.

Police said there are no suspects in custody.

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Ohio man threatens Walmart shoppers with realistic-looking pellet rifle and is shot to death by police

Occurred August 5, 2014.

Scene of shooting at Beavercreek Walmart (source)

(UPDATED -- See below)

22-year old John Crawford was seen loading a rifle in a Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio, near Dayton, then threatening customers, including children, with it.  Police responded and shot him to death when he wouldn't drop the weapon.

During the evacuation, a 37-year old woman, Angela Williams, also collapsed and died, apparently due to unrelated health issues, while trying to evacuate herself and her two children.

From an article:

Authorities say a customer also died after suffering a medical problem during the evacuation of the store Tuesday. Police identified her as Angela Williams, 37, of Fairborn.
Police identified the man shot Tuesday night at a Wal-Mart in the Dayton suburb of Beavercreek as 22-year-old John Crawford of Cincinnati. He died at a hospital.

It's unclear why he had the weapon in the store. A statement from police didn't address Crawford's motives or provide further details about him. No phone was listed for Crawford at the address police had for him.

Beavercreek police said initial investigations indicate the officers responded appropriately. State investigators will review the shooting.

A man who witnessed the scene told a 911 dispatcher that a man with a rifle was near the pet supplies section and appeared to be loading the firearm.

"There is a gentleman walking around with a gun in the store. ... He's, like, pointing it at people," the witness said. Later in the call, sounds like gunshots can be heard, followed by someone screaming for people to leave.

Wal-Mart spokeswoman Brooke Buchanan said by email Wednesday that the company is working with investigators and is "deeply saddened about the loss of life."

Walmart is "deeply saddened," but not enough to actually change any of their gun sales or gun carrying policies.

It turns out the rifle was a realistic-looking pellet gun, which Crawford stole and loaded while inside the store.  From another article:

A law enforcement source tells the Dayton Daily News and News Center 7 that the gun used in the Walmart shooting was a realistic-looking toy gun. ....

[Customer] Ronald Ritche said the man "was just waving it at children and people. Items.... I couldn't hear anything that he was saying. I'm thinking that he is either going to rob the place or he's there to shoot somebody else." The man looked kind of serious, Ronald Ritchie said. "He didn't really want to be looked at and when people did look at him, he was pointing the gun at them. He was pointing at people. Children walking by."

HERE is more information on the gun in question.  HERE is Walmart's online sales page for the black version (it also comes in tan).

In two years, I've chronicled at least 23 incidents involving realistic-looking pellet guns used in crimes and shootings at Walmart stores.  How many does it take for Walmart to stop selling these dangerous items?

Pellet guns are not toys, and there is no good reason for them to look like the real thing!

Ronald Ritche said the man "was just waving it at children and people. Items.... I couldn't hear anything that he was saying. I'm thinking that he is either going to rob the place or he's there to shoot somebody else." The man looked kind of serious, Ronald Ritchie said. "He didn't really want to be looked at and when people did look at him, he was pointing the gun at them. He was pointing at people. Children walking by." - See more at: http://www.whio.com/news/news/report-shooting-beavercreek-wal-mart/ngwTS/#sthash.b5Bw9h1m.dpuf

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UPDATE (8/9/14):  The woman who collapsed while trying to get her children to safety, Angela Williams, was shopping for school supplies and for her upcoming wedding that weekend.

UPDATE (8/9/14):  More information on the realistic-looking pellet gun that the suspect was using to threaten people and that got him shot to death, from an article:

a “variable pump air rifle” made by Crosman Corp.

The owner’s manual for the MK-177 BB/Pellet rifle warns that misuse can result in serious injury or death. And it specifically warns about waving it in public. “Police and others may think it is a firearm,” the manual states.

There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment sent Thursday to the Rochester, New York-based manufacturer.

The MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/Pellet Rifle, manufactured by Crosman

 And, no, it's not a "toy."  These realistic-looking guns are very regularly used by adults and kids to rob, intimidate, threaten, injure, and even kill.

UPDATE (8/9/14):  Despite at least 25 incidents of crimes committed at Walmart stores in just the last couple years using realistic-looking pellet guns, Walmart refuses to stop selling them. 

A similar-looking Bushmaster ACR assault rifle

UPDATE (8/9/14):  The suspect's girlfriend spoke out about the suspect.  They had two small children together, ages 1 and 4.  According to her, the suspect did not enter the store with the gun. 

UPDATE (8/10/14):  A pro-gun, anti-cop group is protesting outside the Walmart store where this occurred.  But instead of protesting the fact that Walmart sells pellet guns that are so realistic that even police can't tell them apart, they are protesting the police for shooting the suspect!

A similar-looking SCAR 16S assault rifle

UPDATE (8/10/14):  Listen to example 9-1-1 calls, HERE. 



ADDENDUM (8/13/14):  HERE is the SCAR rifle and HERE is a Bushmaster ACR assault rifle, both of which the MK-177 pellet rifle is made to look like.  Compare the two pictures, above.  If someone pointed one of these at you from a short distance, do you think you could tell the difference?  

 

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North Carolina man fires gun as "warning shot" in parking lot of a Walmart store

Occurred August 3, 2014.


A man fired "warning shots" in the parking lot of a Walmart Supercenter, in the North Pointe Plaza in North Charleston, North Carolina.  He said he fired the shots because he had "been harassed for a ride" by another man who fled in a car.

No one was injured.

From an article:

Officers on scene say they were told by witnesses that two males were in a conversation at 7400 Rivers Avenue when one of the males got in a vehicle and took off.

Police say while the male was driving off he fired several shots in the air. Moments later, the subject called dispatchers and told them that he fired warning shots at a male subject who was harassing him for a ride, according to officials.

Police say the male driver has been detained and they have found the weapon that was discharged.

No injuries were reported.

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Robbery suspect pulls gun on officer at New Mexico Walmart store

Occurred August 1, 2014.


A police officer, responding to a report of a robber at an Albuquerque Walmart store, discovered the suspect was in the store under suspicion of shoplifting.  The suspect then pulled a gun on the officer, and when the officer responded by pulling his gun, the suspect fled to a nearby store but was arrested.  An accomplice may have been involved.

Luckily, no shots were fired.

From an article:

An Albuquerque Police Department detective trying to identify an auto break-in suspect got more than he bargained for Friday.

He went to the Walmart near Coors and Ouray to browse through archived surveillance footage of a suspected auto burglar who had allegedly used a stolen credit card at the store, according to APD spokesman Tanner Tixier.

As soon as he found the footage, a Walmart loss prevention officer noticed that the same man was in the store Friday trying to shoplift.

A loss prevention officer went up to the man, and the man pulled a gun on the officer, Tixier said.

The APD saw what was happening and then pulled out his gun.

That’s when the suspect put the gun in his pocket and fled to a nearby Home Depot parking lot, where he jumped into a car.

A man “pretending” to do work on the car then ran into the Home Depot.

The suspect in the Walmart case probably will face charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Police said they were trying to figure out whether the second man was involved.

Neither was identified by police Friday.

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Gunman robs woman in South Carolina Walmart parking lot

Occurred August 1, 2014.


A woman was held up at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Aiken, South Carolina, and robbed of cash and a cell phone.  The robber got away.  The victim was unharmed.

From an article with a video image of the suspect:

The victim was sitting in her vehicle that was parked in the Whiskey Road Wal-Mart parking lot at about noon when she was approached by an armed man. He pointed a handgun at the her and demanded money, according to reports.

The victim gave him an undisclosed amount of money, as well as her cellphone. The man then fled the scene in a white vehicle, the report stated.

The suspect is described as a black male, possibly in his 20s, wearing a baseball hat, brown boots, jeans and a gray long-sleeved T-shirt, according to reports.

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UPDATE (10/7/14):  A suspect, Cortavious Darshun Johnson, 23, of Augusta, is wanted for the robbery.

Shots fired at car in North Carolina Walmart parking lot

Occurred June 4, 2014.


Shots were fired at a man in a vehicle, in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Raleigh, North Carolina, hitting other cars in the process.  Luckily, no one was injured.

Police later tracked down the accused shooter, Uchenna Jermel Okechukwu, 20, in an apartment with a 20-year old female and with cocaine.

No motive was released for the shooting.

From an article:

Detectives who went to a man's apartment Wednesday to charge him with shooting up cars and a Walmart store early Tuesday also charged him with cocaine trafficking after finding the drug there, police said.

Uchenna Jermel Okechukwu, 20, was in the apartment at 6742 Narrow Valley Way in north Raleigh along with the woman who shares the apartment, Shawyvashae Shanice Dixon, 20, according to arrest records.

With them, police found between 28 and 199 grams of cocaine, according to arrest warrants, and they charged both with trafficking and with maintaining the apartment to keep and sell drugs.

Investigation into the gunshots outside the New Bern Avenue Walmart about 2:15 a.m. Tuesday had led detectives to Okechukwu, police spokesman Jim Sughrue said.

In that case, police charged, Okechukwu had a semiautomatic pistol that he shot into a car a man was driving.

Bullets also hit other cars and the store, where people were shopping, arrest warrants charged.

No one was hit, and the man called police after he drove away from the shooter.
The gunman fled, police said.

Police charged Okechukwu with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, possession of a gun by a felon, shooting into occupied property, injury to property and shooting a gun inside city limits.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/07/31/4041579/arrest-in-walmart-shoot-up-in.html#storylink=cpy

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