Osage Beach police believe there was an "accidental discharge" of a firearm in Walmart Tuesday evening. According to a spokeswoman, the Walmart corporate office is working alongside Osage Beach police to further review surveillance footage and there is no cause for alarm.
 |
| Scene of shooting at St. Joseph Walmart (source) |
“Apparently, two white males got into an altercation here by the north doors and one of them did fire a weapon at another one,” Capt. Richard Eaton said. The victim was struck in the upper torso and was transported to Mosaic Life Care by a personal vehicle. Police didn’t know if the injuries were life-threatening, but Mr. Eaton said the injuries appeared to be serious.According to another article and news video, a 56-year old man was arrested for the shooting, and the victim is a 29-year old man shot in the torso.
 |
| Festus Walmart where shooting occurred (source) |
The Festus Police Department says that the man was shot through the hand and face. The injuries appear to be non-life threatening. The victim is being treated at a hospital in St. Louis.
Festus police were able to find the suspects about 20 minutes after taking a description from the victim. A 33-year-old DeSoto man and a 30-year-old Festus man matched the description of the suspects. Police believe that this is an isolated incident. They say the victim and the suspects had some sort of relationship before the shooting.
It was a drug deal, but police are unsure who was buying drugs from whom.
"That's what we're trying to investigate," Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said today.
The two men arrested on suspicion of shooting the victim in the hand and jaw were released Thursday after being held for 24 hours, the maximum time state law allows people who have not been charged with a crime to be detained, while police piece together what happened, Lewis said.
 |
| Scene of shooting at Springfield Walmart (source) |
According to a Springfield Police Department spokeswoman, the man has been identified as Eric David Butts, 26, of Springfield. Butts is on probation and parole for burglary. He also has a second-degree felony burglary warrant from Greene County and a municipal traffic warrant from Springfield.
Butts is in police custody while being treated at the hospital for the gunshot wound. ....
Turns out, according to police, that the veteran officer was originally responding to an anonymous 911 call about a panhandler. The caller said they knew the panhandler and believed he was wanted for warrants.
"The officer arrived on scene shortly thereafter and made contact with the individual and the individual ran," says Major Kirk Manlove with the Springfield Police Department. "The officer discharged his weapon. At this point, we are treating this as an officer involved shooting."
It's still not clear why the shot was fired.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
 |
| Scene of kidnapping at Warrensburg Walmart (source) |
Two men approached the family, one with a gun, and forced the 27-year-old mother to drive them to an ATM with her child in tow. After getting their money, they ordered the woman out of the driver's seat.
Charges claim 23-year-old Alan E. Briscoe put the woman in the passenger seat up front with him, and gave his 21-year-old accomplice, Kevin A. Ratte, the gun which Ratte kept pointed at the 7-year-old boy in the back seat of the woman's Grand Am.
The accused kidnappers then took the mother and child down a country road.
Police say along the way they threatened to rape the woman, then threatened to kill both her and her son. They eventually took the mother and child to a dead end and forced them to lie face down in a field, before driving off in her car.
Charging documents say both men admitted to their involvement. They each face seven felony charges that include kidnapping, child kidnapping, first-degree robbery, stealing a motor vehicle and sexual misconduct.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
According to police, the female robbery suspect, who is described as “heavy set,” approached a woman in the parking lot on November 17. The suspect demanded the victim’s purse.
The victim refused, so the suspect pulled out a silver handgun and asked for the purse a second time. The victim, then, handed over the cash from her purse to protect herself.
Police say, the suspect was last seen running toward, then entering, an early 2000s gold-colored two-door Chevrolet Blazer.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
A 27-year-old Joplin woman was charged with armed robbery after she allegedly pointed a BB gun at a security worker at a Wal-Mart store in Joplin when he tried to stop her Sunday afternoon on suspicion of shoplifting.
Vanessa A. Tawwater was arrested about 2:15 p.m. north of the Wal-Mart store at 2623 W. Seventh St.
Police Lt. Matt Stewart said a Wal-Mart employee followed Tawwater out of the store and caught up with her on a nearby property where she pulled a gun on him.
The employee told an officer who arrived on the scene that she was in possession of a gun, and she threw it on the ground and was arrested, Stewart said.
Tawwater allegedly had left the store with $115.61 worth of merchandise without paying for it.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
A man entered the Wal-Mart Supercenter on Branson Hills Parkway at about 3 a.m. this (Friday) morning and reportedly demanded cigarettes and cash. Branson Assistant Police Chief Stan Dobbins says the man was armed with a black semi-automatic handgun.
Dobbins says a second armed robbery was reported at the Wal-Mart on West Highway 76 shortly after 3 o’clock this afternoon. He says the suspect matches the same description of the earlier robbery.
There is an undetermined amount of money stolen.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
Brandon Sizemore, 22, of Kirksville faces first-degree assault and armed criminal action.
Police say he's the man allegedly responsible for the shooting that happened in the Kirksville Wal-Mart parking lot early Saturday morning, leaving Andrew Clark seriously injured.
Just before 2:30 Saturday morning, police responded to the shooting where officers located Clark suffering with gunshot wounds to his hand and stomach. Clark was transported to Northeast Regional Medical Center with serious injuries. We called Northeast Regional Medical Center Sunday, and Clark's condition is now stable.
We're told all this started with a fight and ended with the firing of gunshots
Several hours later, Kirksville police arrested Sizemore in connection with Saturday's shooting.
He's in the Adair County Jail on a $150,000 cash only bond.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
Two suspects are in custody at the Joplin City Jail following a late night officer involved shooting which occured at the 15th Street Walmart. Two Joplin Police officers were conducting an undercover anti-theft detail Tuesday night just before 11:00, when they observed a disturbance in the parking lot.
One of the suspects fled on foot. As the officers pursued the suspect, a male and female involved in the disturbance were in a pickup truck and attempted to run over one of the officers. The officer fired shots at the vehicle, striking the two occupants. The truck fled the scene.
Joplin Police Lt. Brian Lewis says, "The truck was stopped by a Duquesne officer at 9th and Range Line. At that point they were taken into custody. Both suspects received injuries from the gun shot wounds. They were treated; they were not life threatening."Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
John Gage, 24, of Joplin, has been charged with the assault of a law enforcement officer. Tyeler Whetstone, 22, was also arrested and charged with possession with the intent to sell illegal drugs. ....
Both received injuries from the gun shots. Gage was shot in the shoulder and a shot struck Whetstone in the finger..
 |
| One of the Walmarts threatened in Kansas City, Missouri |
Three area Walmart stores, located in the Northland and Independence, were evacuated after the man made the threats of violence sometime after midnight Wednesday.
According to police, the man would call to make a threat, and once police arrived and found nothing suspicious, he would call and make a threat at another location.
The third call, that concerned an Independence Walmart located on East 39th Street South and South Bolger Road, just west of Highway 291, happened shortly after 2:45 a.m. Nothing was found.
Police were able to find the man by tracing a TracFone cell phone he had in his possession. He was arrested shortly after 5 a.m.
The victim gave the suspect a ride from the WalMart Super Center. Once the victim started to drive, the suspect pulled out a handgun and demanded the victim drive to the victim’s bank to withdraw money. Sometime during the ride to the bank, the suspect striked the victim on the head and facial area with the hand gun causing minor injuries. The victim drove to his bank on Broadway and withdraws money. The suspect took the victim's vehicles, keys, wallet and electronics. The victim exited the vehicle and ran to the police department for assistance.
The suspect stole a white 2002 Ford Focus with Missouri registration. He is described as a black male, 5'8" with a slender build in his late 20's to early 30's. The suspect was last seen wearing a black jacket, dark jeans, stocking cap, gloves, and armed with a handgun.
According to a probable cause statement by Det. Dusty Ross of the Bolivar Police Department, Blaec James Lammers, 20, initially planned on attending a showing of the "Twilight" movie at B&B Theatre in Bolivar and shooting people at it.
He had planned on doing it at a showing tonight (Friday, Nov. 16), Ross said in a phone interview.
"Blaec Lammers stated that he had purchased tickets to go see the 'Twilight' movie ... and he was going to shoot people at the movie theatre on that night," the statement said.
"He then got to thinking about it and realized that he might run out of ammunition, so he decided that he would go and shoot people at Walmart in Bolivar. ... He would walk into the store and just start shooting people at random and if he ran out of ammunition (he said he purchased 400 rounds), he would just break the glass where the ammunition is being stored and get some more and keep on shooting until the police arrived," the statement said.
....
"He got the idea, he purchased the guns, purchased the ammo, went out and practiced using the gun, got his venue, got tickets to the venue, then thought 'Well, maybe if I run out of ammo, I need to pick a different venue.'
....
Lammers allegedly planned something similar in 2009.
"Lammers had previously stated that he wanted to stab a Walmart employee to death and went to Walmart and followed an employee around the store before he was contacted by officers," the statement said.
In an interview with Ross, Lammers allegedly said he had a lot in common with individuals involved in recent shootings in the news.
"Lammers stated that he was quiet, kind of a loner, had recently purchased firearms and didn't tell anybody about it and had homicidal thoughts," the statement said.
The suspect was familiar with several high profile shootings, Ross said, discussing shootings at Virginia Tech, Arizona, Columbine, Colo., and Aurora.
Lammers acquired one assault-type gun on Monday, Nov. 12, and another on Tuesday, Nov. 13. Ross said he purchased both guns, a .223 and .22 similar in appearance to the AR-15s used in the Aurora shooting, from Walmart. He is held in the Polk County Jail on a $500,000 bond.(information on the suspect's Facebook page)
The couple has tried repeatedly to get help for their son, who has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and an anti-social personality disorder. They recalled waiting for hours as hospital staffers called institutions around the state, trying to find one that had an open bed for their son.
They’ve spent as much as $30,000 on repeated hospitalizations and medications. There is still a balance of about $9,300 from their son’s last stay at Lakeland Behavioral Health System, a psychiatric hospital for children in Springfield.
They said the mental health system had failed them and their son.UPDATE (4/6/13): A judge ruled that Lammers' plan constituted a threat. From an article:
Despite objections the state did not prove the defendant communicated a threat, Associate Circuit Judge John C. Porter found probable cause that Blaec James Lammers, 20, of Bolivar committed a felony in his alleged plans to open fire at Bolivar Walmart in November. ...
The next day, Wednesday, Nov. 14, she picked up Lammers’ clothes to do his laundry — he lived with her at her residence on East 473rd Road — and she found a Walmart receipt dated Nov. 13 for a gun in the pocket of his pants, P. Lammers said. She could not recall what she read on the receipt to make her believe it was for a gun, but the purchase was for $865 and had been paid in cash.
“I briefly spoke with him that Wednesday afternoon,” P. Lammers said. “He said ‘Yes, I bought them [the guns] several weeks ago.’ ... That was not true.
“I have learned to walk on eggshells, sometimes, around my son. I didn’t want him to get angry with me. I was concerned for my safety as well as my son’s,” P. Lammers said. “I was afraid my son could come back and hurt me or I was afraid he could hurt himself, take his life. I had no idea what my son might do.” ...
Jeff Murray, a Walmart employee, testified that he sold Lammers a Windham Weaponry AR-15 and some ammunition on Nov. 13. The rifle is semi-automatic, Murray said, and is commonly called an “assault weapon.” Lammers completed the background paperwork in his presence and Murray said he submitted it to the FBI.UPDATE (6/6/13): Read more about how Lammers was able to be armed despite years of going in and out of mental facilities and concern from his parents, HERE.
On Saturday at approximately 12:30 AM, the Fulton Police Department received a call of shots fired on the parking lot of Wal-Mart.
Upon arrival several bullet casings were found.
Checking the stores surveillance camera system revealed 3 vehicles involved.
Using this information from the cameras and several eye witnesses, we were able to develop a suspect.
The investigation revealed that the incident is a result of a domestic situation which started in a local bar earlier in the evening.
The persons involved moved to the Wal-Mart parking lot where an altercation ensued.
After a brief verbal exchange, one of the participants attempted to leave the lot in a vehicle.
The suspect then fired at least 2 rounds at the vehicle as it was leaving.
No one was injured, there was no apparent damage to property.
The suspect is identified as Antawan J Ferguson, age 20 of Fulton.
He is being charged with the class D Felony of Unlawful Use of a weapon, armed criminal action, and 3rd degree domestic assault.Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
