Argument leads to shooting at Alaska Walmart

Occurred September 8, 2014.


An argument broke out between two men, Nicholas Guarnere and Darry Flyum, in a travel trailer parked in a Walmart parking lot in Kenai, Alaska.  The argument turned into a fight, with Flyum pulling out a pistol, hitting Guarnere with it, then firing the gun, grazing Guarnere's head.  Flyum was already a felon.

From an article:

Kenai police say on the evening of Sept. 8 the, department received a report of a male possibly having a grazing gunshot wound. The male, Nicholas Guarnere, reported he had an altercation with a man named Darry on the early morning hours of Sept. 6. in a travel trailer parked on the south side of Walmart in Kenai. Guarnere told police Darry was a guest in his trailer, that the two had an argument that turned physical, with Darry striking him on the head with a pistol and then pointing the pistol at Guarnere’s head. Guarnere said he attempted to maneuver away from the gun while pushing the gun away and the gun fired with the bullet grazing his head. Guarnere received medical treatment for injuries.

Kenai police identified Darry as Flyum.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Woman shoots at car in Alaska Walmart parking lot

Occurred November 1, 2013.

(UPDATED -- See below)

Ashley Nelund, 27, shot at an occupied vehicle in the parking lot of a Walmart store in Kenai, Alaska.  Both she and the vehicle occupants fled the scene.  Nelund was later arrested.

Luckily, no one was apparently injured.

From an article:

Ashley Nelund, 27, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault and second-degree misconduct involving weapons after she allegedly fired multiple gunshots at an occupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot in Kenai. 

According to a Kenai police press release, multiple 911 calls reporting the shooting were received at about 7:10 p.m. The suspect was reported to have left the area in a red Ford Focus. Officers located the vehicle a short time later at a Kenai residence. Nelund was found outside of the residence. 

According to police, the vehicle that was shot at also left the scene before police arrived. The vehicle and driver have not been located, however, police have contacted a 17-year-old male who was a passenger in the vehicle. 

No injuries from the shooting have been reported.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.


UPDATE (4/21/14):  The shooter, Nelund, has been indicted.  There were two occupants in the vehicel that she shot at, shooting three times and hitting the bumper of the car "to scare" the occupants.  The shooting was over money that Nelund felt she was owed.  She has also been charged for drug charges.  From an article:

At the scene, police spoke to a passenger inside the vehicle being shot at, a 17-year-old juvenile. He told police the altercation started when Nelund approached him and the person he was with about owing her money. The juvenile told police as they started to drive away, Nelund opened fire on the vehicle, according to the affidavit. 

Police located three shell casings from .380 auto pistol in the parking lot in the direction people reported seeing the woman matching Nelund’s description fire her gun, according to the report. 

Law enforcement found Nelund possessed the keys to the red Ford and they found a .380 auto pistol on the grass near the edge of the woods where she appeared. A Kenai Police records search indicated Nelund as the owner of the gun. 

Nelund admitted to police that she fired three shots at the bumper of the vehicle with the intention of scaring the occupants. 

The driver of the vehicle was never located.

UPDATE (8/16/14):  The shooter, Nelund, has pleaded guilty for the shooting.  From an article:

Ashley Nelund, 28, of Sterling, pleaded guilty to misconduct involving weapons in the second-degree, assault in the fourth-degree and attempted misconduct involving a controlled substance in the second-degree. Superior Court Judge Charles Huguelet accepted the guilty plea. Sentencing will take place Nov. 25 at 3:30 p.m.

Each Class B Felony carries with it a maximum of 10 years in jail and a $100,000 fine, Huguelet said. The maximum jail time for the assault charge is one year.

Nelund’s defense attorney Dina Cale said in court an agreement was reached with the District Attorney’s office to reduce two counts of assault in the third-degree, a Class C Felony, to fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor.

The first two charges stem from an incident on Nov. 1, 2013 after Kenai Police allege she fired multiple shots at an occupied vehicle in the Walmart parking lot.

UPDATE (11/27/14):  Nelund was sentenced to seven years in jail.  Since being arrested, Nelund has given birth to a baby and was pregnant during the shooting.  From the article:

During his argument for the state’s sentencing recommendation, which Judge Charles Huguelet ultimately adopted, Leaders focused on the severity of Nelund’s crime. He said the community needed to use Nelund as an example to others who might be capable of similar violence.

“This is not New York City, this is not L.A., this is not even Anchorage. We don’t have this type of random violence in the Walmart parking lot … this is a very serious incident for the community, the Kenai Peninsula area,” Leaders said. “It warrants a strong sentence.”

Cale framed the situation differently. She said Nelund, who was pregnant during both the drug deal and the shooting, was suffering from mental illness and had gone off of her medications upon becoming pregnant.

During the drug deal, Cale said Nelund had been trading the heroin for suboxone, a detox medication that is used to treat opiate addiction.

“She was self-medicating with what she thought was a better option than heroin,” Cale said.

 
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Alaskan man shoplifts wiper blades and fires shots in Walmart store

Occurred June 18, 2013.


22-year old Wesley Weinburger was caught shoplifting wiper blades from an Eagle River, Alaska, Walmart store.  When confronted, Weinburger then fired multiple shots and fled.  He was later arrested.

Luckily no one was injured.

From an article:

According to Myren, Weinburger was first confronted by Walmart employees who accused him of concealing a set of $20 wiper blades near the front check-out area. Weinburger allegedly pushed past the employees and ran toward a set of locked entry doors, firing multiple shots. Myren said Weinburger then turned around and ran out of the store through a set of unlocked doors. 

Police using K-9 dogs located some of Weinburger's clothing in a neighbor's yard, and he was apprehended at home a short time later.

According to another article, Weinburger fired the shots in order to break through a locked exit.  Upon getting outside, he apparently took off his shoes and pants for some reason during the getaway.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Double-amputee shoots Alaska Walmart manager when asked to leash service dog

Scene of shooting in Anchorage Walmart

Occurred March 16, 2013.

(updated, see below)

45-year-old Daniel Pirtle, a double-amputee in a motorized cart, was shopping in a Walmart in Anchorage, Alaska.  He had a service dog, but the dog was not on a leash.  When 33-year-old manager Jason Mahi asked Pirtle to leash his dog or leave, Pirtle became angry and shot Mahi once in the abdomen.

According to the Anchorage Scanner, the shooting occurred in the gun section of the store.

Pirtle was arrested just outside the store by an off-duty police officer and taken into custody.  Mahi survived so far and underwent surgery.

The store never closed, and wasn't evacuated.

From an article:

According to police, the man entered the store in a motorized cart at about 3 p.m. and went the sporting goods section. Mahi asked him to the put the dog on a leash or leave.  

The man then pulled out a gun and shot the manager in the abdomen, police said. 

Officers removed the man's prosthetic legs and put him in the back of a patrol car, the Anchorage Daily News reported. They held his dog in the back of another police cruiser. An officer said she was driving the dog home.

(a related article)

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

UPDATE (3/20/13):  The victim, Mahi, remains unconscious in the hospital.  Pirtle meanwhile has been charged and is choosing to represent himself. He had two pistols on him at that time of the shooting.  From an article:

He was charged with first-degree assault and weapons misconduct, and on Tuesday declined a public defender, telling the judge that he preferred to represent himself. "I know how to do that," he said at the pre-indictment hearing. .... 

Pirtle had two pistols with him at the store, and later admitted to detectives that he had shot Mahi, according to an information report filed by the local district attorney. 

Mahi's brother, Brandon Mahi, said the victim remained unconscious on Tuesday. "We're just praying every day," Brandon Mahi said after Pirtle's brief court appearance. 

He said the family is upset that Walmart continued to do business after the shooting. "They just kept running like nothing even happened," he said. .... 

If Mahi dies, murder charges will be added, said Anita Shell, a spokeswoman for the Anchorage Police Department.

UPDATE (3/22/13): A recent article revealed additional details about the shooter.  According to the article:

Pirtle liked to travel with the 5-month-old dog Wookie -- and the guns -- wherever he went, said Susi Griffith, a roommate and longtime friend. He showed indications of instability, she said, but had seemed to be adjusting to a pair of surgeries to remove his legs because of diabetes over the past two to three years. .... 

Over the past two weeks, Pirtle had become irritable, Griffith said. "He has mental instabilities. He had medication that I believe he had quit taking."

UPDATE (3/28/13):  Here is a video from a news outlet which has a digital reenactment of the shooting.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/03/18/2830596/with-walmart-shooting-victim-in.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/03/18/2830596/with-walmart-shooting-victim-in.html#storylink=cpy

UPDATE (3/31/13):  Here is information on the off-duty police officer, Sgt. Mike Couturier, who detained Pirtle until he could be arrested.

UPDATE (11/16/13):  The shooter, Daniel Pirtle, plead guilty.  The victim, Brandon Mahi, has apparently recovered and returned to work.  From an article:

Daniel Pirtle, 46, pleaded guilty Friday to one count of first-degree assault for the shooting that put Jason Mahi, 33, in a hospital for weeks. Pirtle was originally charged with attempted murder and misconduct involving a weapon. 

An off-duty police sergeant who was shopping helped corral Pirtle, who was motoring out the store's front door as other officers arrived. Walmart employees made no announcement about the shooting, and shoppers in other parts of the store were unaware of what had happened, witnesses said.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2013/11/15/3178624/man-who-shot-walmart-employee.html#storylink=cpy

UPDATE (3/28/14):  The shooter, Pirtle, was sentenced.  From an article:

Before handing down a sentence of 11 years with two suspended and two years of probation, Judge Michael Spaan told Pirtle he was lucky someone else carrying a gun did not shoot him.

"You had people reaching for shotguns. You had police officers asking for guns," Spaan said. "This was horrible, but it could have been a lot worse. It was a very crowded store, a very public place."

"It was Dodge City," the judge said. "For a rage like this to break out for somebody asking you to put your dog on a leash in a store is unacceptable."

The victim, Jason Mahi, who was shot in the stomach, remains handicapped from the shooting:

"It's been a rough road," said Mahi, who spent three months in a hospital and racked up more than $1 million in medical bills. ....

Mahi now walks with a cane and suffered damage to his hip, intestines, kidney and bladder, he said. But he said the trouble and worry caused to his family has been the worst part.

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/03/28/3399078/amputee-gets-9-year-sentence-in.html?sp=/99/188/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/03/28/3399078/amputee-gets-9-year-sentence-in.html?sp=/99/188/#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/03/28/3399078/amputee-gets-9-year-sentence-in.html?sp=/99/188/#storylink=cpy

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