Walmart employee shot to death in his car at Chicago Walmart

Occurred January 8, 2015.

Scene of fatal shooting at Chicago Walmart (source)

(UPDATED -- See below)

A male employee of a Walmart store in Chicago, Illinois, was found shot several times in his car, in the parking lot.  No suspect has yet been caught.

From an article:

Police are investigating a fatal shooting in the parking lot of a Walmart in Bedford Park, near the border with Chicago.

Bedford Park police said they responded to a 911 call and found an unresponsive male shot several times in the front seat of a vehicle. A Walmart spokesperson said the victim is a Walmart associate.

The victim was taken to Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, where he died.

The parking lot is cordoned off, but the Walmart at 7050 S. Cicero remains open.

Bedford Park police and the South Suburban Major Crimes Task Force are investigating. There is no suspect in custody.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.


UPDATE (1/10/15):   The victim has been identified as Stephen Sims, age 20.

UPDATE (3/15/15):  The victim, Stephen Sims, had previously lost his mother, 5 year old stepbrother, and stepmother in two other incidents of gun violence.  From an article:

In 1998, Stephen Sims, 20, lost his mother to gun violence in Roseland. In 2013, he lost his 5-year-old brother, Sterling, and his stepmother to an armed robbery after the family refused to hand over their belongings.

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Man steals gun from Illinois Walmart and uses it to rob other businesses that day

Occurred November 25, 2013.


18-year old Kenyate Jackson robbed a handgun from the local Walmart in Decatur, Illinois.  Later that day, he used the gun to hold up a gas station and a video store.

He was captured the next day.

Jackson had been released from prison only 19 days before.  

From an article:

Police say Jackson robbed the Thornton Oil gas station, on Mound Road and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. He allegedly pointed a gun at the 26-year-old female employee.  The gun was stolen earlier that morning from Walmart. He told the employee to give him all the money, remove her clothing and lay on the ground.

Jackson also robbed the Family Video shortly after robbing the Thornton's gas station.

Police found Jackson the next day at the Family Video.

During Jackson's interview with police, he confessed to the robbery of the gas station, the theft of the gun, and for the armed robbery of Family Video.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man chased around Illinois Walmart by gunman

Occurred January, 2013.


According to a lawsuit filed this week, a man and his girlfriend were harrassed by two people, in a Walmart in Waukegan, Illinois.  After the offenders were escorted out by security, though, the men came back, chased the man around the store with a gun, and severely beat him, while Walmart security did nothing to stop the attack.

From an article:

The suit alleges Jeremiah Rogers and his girlfriend – both African Americans – were at the Walmart in Waukegan in January, when two unidentified men–one who was white or Hispanic and the other black–began harassing them. 

David Lowery Jr., founder and CEO of the Living & Driving While Black Foundation, said security guards escorted the men out, but at least one of them came back and accosted the couple again, using a racial slur. 

Rogers was hit in the face with a wine bottle, then of of the men pulled out a gun, “and started to chase him around the store,” Lowery said.

“Meanwhile, Walmart security and management ran into their office, and locked the door, and left them out in the store, running, trying to save their lives,” he added. 

However, Walmart claimed a store security guard intervened right away. 

“Unfortunately, sometimes individual customers act inappropriately. When that happens and it turns violent, we involve police, who are trained to manage such situations. In this instance, an off-duty police officer was working security for us at the time and he responded immediately,” Walmart spokesman Dan Fogleman said in an email. “Our security cameras captured the incident and we have provided the video to police to help identify, and hopefully convict, those responsible for Mr. Rogers’ injuries.” 

Rogers’ nose was broken, and he lost several teeth, according to Lowery. 

The assailants ran away. The lawsuit claims Walmart failed in its obligation to provide a safe environment for its customers.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man steals realistic pellet guns from Illinois Walmart and uses one to hold off police

Occurred July 23, 2013.


Store employees at a Walmart store in Wood River, Illinois, witnessed 20-year old Nicholas S. Middleton opening several realistic-looking Airsoft pellet guns and shoplifting them.

When police arrived, Middleton put one of the guns to his head.  Police held back, and Middleton fled.  Eventually police stopped Middleton, who continued to threaten to harm himself with the gun, until police found an opportunity and captured him.

From an article:

Steward said the man ran from store security after they allegedly witnessed him ripping open several Airsoft pellet gun packages. An Airsoft gun typically is designed to shoot plastic pellets with a compressed gas cartridge. They are non-lethal in nature but designed to look like a real weapon, Steward said. 

When police finally took the man into custody, he had “four or five” of the guns in his possession, the chief said. 

The suspect ran to his vehicle, a 1999 Ford Contour, in the store parking lot at 610 Wesley Drive, just as officers were converging. Immediately, he began pointing one of the guns at his head while outside his car, Steward said. 

The situation kept officers at a distance, allowing the man to get in the car and drive away. He hit numerous curbs with his tires on the way out of the lot. 

He fled north on Wesley Drive and got as far as Old Oak Road in Rosewood Heights before a front wheel came off his car. By that point, three of four tires were flattened from various impacts, Steward said. 

Officers from Wood River, Bethalto, South Roxana, Roxana and Madison County were involved in the pursuit and surrounded his car, their own guns drawn, Steward said. The man continued to hold the gun to his head. 

“At some point, he got angry and banged the gun on the side of the car, and it fell into the street,” the chief said. “That’s when they were able to take him into custody.”

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.