A year of Walmart Shootings: 2012

(image from Per's Decent Blog)

When I started this blog, it was to chronicle what has become a sad fact: the retail giant Walmart, the number one retailer of guns and ammo in the United States, and possibly the world, has a higher rate of shootings and gun crimes on its properties than any other “big box” retailer in the nation.

As I have chronicled on this blog, Walmart had 54 shootings reported in the media in 2012.  That’s more than one a week, on average.  HERE is a listing of those incidents at the New Trajectory blog.  Though I didn’t look carefully until recently, I also found 24 other gun crimes where shots weren't fired.  That’s at least 75 incidents in at least 28 states. 

Crimes and shootings included armed robberies, customers angry at each other, shoplifters (including of assault weapons!), road rage, law enforcement encounters, drug deals gone wrong, and even suicides.  Twice there were accidental shootings, both times by gun owners with legal conceal carry permits.

I found 8 homicides, 25 attempted homicides or aggravated assaults with guns, 2 gang-related incidents, 4 drug-related events, 21 armed robberies, 11 shoplifting incidents, 2 accidents, 10 law-enforcement related incidents, and at least one murder/suicide (some of these categories overlap).  There were also two plots for mass murders at Walmarts.  An additional shooting was a man who stupidly decided to hunt for deer in the parking lot.

50 incidents were in the parking lots.  25 were inside the stores.  2 were at Walmart gas stations attached to the parking lots. 

In 2005, a movie was released entitled “Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices.”  You can see on YouTube, embedded below.  For their abysmal record on shootings and assaults, watch timeframe 1:16:11 - 1:25:06.  At timepoint 1:19, note that Walmart did their own internal study and found that 80% of assaults happened in their parking lots.  When they posted a roving guard in the parking lot, incidents dropped to nearly zero.  And yet, Walmart squashed the study and did not change their national policy regarding policing of their parking lots other than additional security cams.  No surprise, then, that here at Walmart Shootings we found that there is nearly twice the rate of incidents in the parking lots than inside stores in 2012.

It leaves you wondering.  Why Walmart?  What is it about Walmart stores that attracts gun crimes?  Is it their lax policy toward guns (they allow conceal carry in all stores, complicit with state gun law, are the number one retailer of guns in America, and even sell assault rifles).  Other retail giants, like Target, Kmart, and Costco almost never have gun crimes occur on their properties, so the issue isn’t just related to number of stores.  Or is it something about the clientele that Walmart sells to?  I don’t have an answer to these questions – seeking the answers is why this blog is here.

In the meantime, as we go into 2013, shop carefully if you go to your local Walmart.  There might be a Walmart Shooting coming to a store near you.

Remember:

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Attempted armed robbery inside Michigan Walmart

Occurred December 26, 2012.

A man, posing as law enforcement, gained the trust of a Walmart manager in Sturgis, Michigan, and then tried to rob her at gunpoint.  The plan failed, however, and he fled the scene.

From an article:

Police said the suspect entered the store about 8 p.m. 

He gained the confidence of management by displaying a badge and saying he was police officer and wanted to talk with them privately. 

During this time, the man made intensions of robbing the business and displayed a hand gun. 

The suspect did not get away with any money and left the store in a mid-sized, four-door passenger car. 

The suspect vehicle is believed to be a early 2000s, possibly red. It fled south on Centerville Road. 

The suspect is described as a white male in his late 50s, about 5-feet, 10-inches tall. 

He was wearing a tan full length dress coat, brown dress hat and a dark colored suit.

(a related article)

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Men steal gun from driver at Oregon Walmart parking lot

Occurred December 28, 2012.

A man parked at a Eugene, Oregon Walmart allowed two strangers to enter his car to use a cell phone, on the pretense of calling for a ride.  The men then took an unsecured gun from the driver's back seat.  The driver, realizing what was happening, then pulled another firearm on the two men, but the men escaped.

The gun was later recovered by a K9 unit, and one of the suspects was arrested.

From an article:

The theft victim reported he allowed two men he didn't know to get in his car to use his cellphone to call for a ride, and while they did so, one rummaged through belongings in the back seat where the gun was hidden. 

Police said that when he realized what had happened, the victim drew a second firearm, but the two men fled. Officers later found them and arrested one, 26-year-old Joseph Wilson Brumback of Harrisburg, on a theft charge.

(a related article)

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man attempts armed robbery in California Walmart

Outside the Moreno Valley Walmart,
scene of attempted armed robbery

Occurred December 24, 2012.

A man armed with a rifle entered a Moreno Valley, California, Walmart and demanded that the manager open a safe.  However, the robbery was interrupted and the suspect fled.  No one was injured.  The store was evacuated for a few hours during the search for the suspect.

From an article:

The rifle-carrying man who entered the Walmart on Moreno Beach Drive in Moreno Valley on Monday, Dec. 24, attempted to rob the store, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.

Sheriff’s deputies that morning said they did not immediately know what the man’s purpose was in asking for the manager. A news release later Monday clarified what happened.

Someone reported at 6 a.m. that the Walmart was being robbed by a man in a black trench coat who was carrying a rifle. The man demanded that the manager open the safe, but he fled before the safe was opened after someone announced over the public-address system that the store was being robbed.

The man did not take money or merchandise, the release said.

The store was evacuated. As of 9 a.m., people were still inside the store and nobody was allowed to enter. Around 9:15 a.m., employees started leaving.

Deputies found footprints that led into a dirt field west of the shopping center. They searched using a police dog and a helicopter but could not find the man, who has not been identified.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Man shot in leg in road rage incident in Virginia Walmart parking lot

Occurred December 24, 2012.

On Christmas Eve, two men got into a "mutual road rage incident" which ended with both vehicles stopping in the parking lot of a Martinsville, Virginia parking lot. One driver attacked the other with a baseball bat, while the other pulled out a gun and shot the other in the leg.

From a Sheriff's office release, as quoted in an article:

The Henry County Sheriff’s Office is currently investigating a malicious wounding that occurred in the 800 block of Commonwealth Boulevard Martinsville, VA. On December 24, 2012 at approximately 12:06 pm the Martinsville/Henry County Communications Center received a call regarding a fight in progress in front of Mountain View Shopping Center. Matthew David Davis, 27, of 5195 Franklin Street Rocky Mount, VA reported that he was shot in the leg by a male subject identified as Robert Alonzo Beal, 45, of 20 Massey Street Martinsville, VA. The altercation stemmed from what appears to be a situation involving road rage between the two parties. The vehicles then stopped at Mountain View Shopping Center and a physical altercation ensued. During the altercation, Beal was struck several times with an aluminum baseball bat and Davis was subsequently shot in the upper portion of his left leg. 

Beal was treated and released for a fracture to his right arm and Davis was treated and released for a gunshot wound to his leg. Robert Alonzo Beal has been charged with one misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct and was released on a $5000 unsecured bond. Davis has been charged with malicious wounding, a felony, and jailed without bond.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Sheryl Crow sings about Walmart gun sales

No surprise...  Walmart refuses to sell the CD that includes this song.

Love Is A Good Thing
by Sheryl Crow


Lyrics:

Watch out sister, watch out brother,
Watch our children while they kill each other
With a gun they bought at Wal-mart discount stores
Welcome to the hallway, metal detectors just been installed
Hey isn't cops and robbers gettin' to be a big bore
Mary, Mary quite contrary, close the door now,
It's much too scary
And your might see something you wish you hadn't seen
Out of sight, out of time, out of patience,
And I'm out of my mind
Governor, tell me what does it mean
Dance children, dance to the beat
Wanna be a hippy cause life is so sweet
Good morning hate
Dance children, dance to the beat
Wanna rock and roll up and down the street,
I've got a message

Love is a good thing
Love is a good, love is a good,
Love is a good thing

Politicians on a mission,
Build them up, bring them down
For the good of the system
Well we don't like the way you live your life
I got one thing I must express
We try our criminals in the press
Justice is a fading light
Mary, Mary quite contrary, close the door now
It's much too scary
And you might see something you wish you hadn't seen
Out of sight, out of time, out of patience,
And I'm out of my mind
Governor, tell me what does it mean
Dance children, dance to the beat
Wanna be a hippy cause life is so sweet
Good morning hate
Dance children, dance to the beat
Wanna rock and roll up and down the street
I've got a message

Love is a good thing
Love is a good, love is a good,
Love is a good thing



Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Armed robbery by man at checkout stand in Winston-Salem Walmart

Scene of armed robbery at Winston-Salem Walmart

Occurred December 20, 2012.

A man who appeared like a standard customer came up to the checkout in a Winston-Salem, North Carolina Walmart and showed a gun.  He demanded money and escaped, taking cash and electronics with him.  Luckily, no one was harmed.

From an article:

Gunman demanding money at Winston-Salem Walmart

The WSPD is reporting that a man robbed the Hanes Mill Road Wal-Mart at approximately 4:25am Thursday morning. The gunman appeared to be a normal customer choosing an item for “purchase” before getting in line at an open register where he pulled out a gun and demanded money. 

The robber got away with some merchandise and an undisclosed amount of money. No one was injured in the incident and CID is now investigating.

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.