Why are there so many shooting incidents and other gun crimes on Walmart property?

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Three Texas teens found with stolen realistic pellet guns, drugs, and stolen car at Walmart in New Mexico

Occurred July 23, 2013.


Three teen boys from Texas, ages 16, 17, and 18, were on the run with a stolen car and wound up being captured in the parking lot of a Walmart in Carlsbad, New Mexico.  In the car with them were three realistic-looking pellet guns and drugs.  At least one of the guns had been reported stolen  from a Walmart store.

From an article:
Baca checked the license plate and VIN number on the vehicle and discovered the truck had been stolen out of Seminole, Texas, where the two juveniles, Javier Mares and Curtis Kelly, were from. Officer Norman Bowie found several homemade marijuana pipes, loose marijuana, three black pellet handguns and bottles of Crown Royal and Malibu Red inside the vehicle, according to the police report.  
The report states officers caught the driver of the Toyota Tundra, later identified as Edgar Madrid, 18, of Hobbs, attempting to break into another vehicle south of Walmart.  
Baca said an officer saw a gun on the ground in front of the Dumpster where Madrid was hiding and asked Madrid to raise his hands. Madrid then started to reach down to his waistband, most of his body still behind the Dumpster, Baca said. Officers reportedly did not know the gun was fake and had been stolen from Walmart until Madrid was placed in custody. 
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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.”

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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Man with realistic-looking pellet gun attempts robbery at Pennsylvania Walmart

Occurred July 23, 2013.


A man, Orlando Coleman Jr., entered a Walmart store in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, produced a gun, and pointed it at a sales clerk, demanding money.  When the clerk refused, he then fled.  He was captured soon after.  The gun, it turns out, was a realistic-looking Airsoft pellet gun.

From an article:
According to state police, the suspect pointed a weapon at the clerk and demanded money. 
However, authorities say the man left after the clerk told him she was not able to open the drawer unless a purchase was made. 
The suspect, identified by police as Orlando Coleman Jr. of Uniontown, was arrested about a half mile from the store while walking along Route 40 with his girlfriend. 
State police say they also recovered an Airsoft BB-type weapon. 
Coleman is facing charges of simple assault and criminal attempt to commit armed robbery.
Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Woman shot and injured in North Dakota Walmart parking lot

Occurred July 19, 2013. 
Scene of shooting at Williston Walmart


(UPDATED -- see below)

A woman was shot in the thigh in the parking lot of a Walmart in Williston, North Dakota. She fled to a neighboring gas station/cafe and called 911.

From an article:
The Williston Police Department reported a 9-1-1 call came in at 2:27 a.m. reporting shots fired in the parking lot at Walmart. 
When officers arrived on the scene, they located a female inside the gas station at Lonnie’s Roadhouse Cafe with a gunshot wound to her thigh. She was transported to Mercy Medical Center by ambulance to receive medical treatment. 
The police have not released her identity or the extent of her injuries.
(a related news article)

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UPDATE (7/23/13): It turns out that the woman unintentionally shot herself, and likely was using drugs at the time.  From an article:

Court records say Williston police responded early Friday to a report that a woman had been shot in the Walmart area. Officers located Simon in the bathroom of Lonnie’s, a cafĂ© near Walmart, and Simon told an officer she had been shot by one male in a group of three males. 
However, the officer found a pistol in Simon’s purse and Simon then said the shooting could have been an accident but she didn’t remember how it happened, court records state. Court records accuse Simon of shooting herself in both legs while she was within one foot of at least one other individual. 
Officers also observed a spoon with white residue consistent with methamphetamine inside the purse, as well as bras with Walmart price tags still attached. Simon also is charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class C felony.
.

Armed robbery in Louisiana Walmart parking lot

Occurred July 18, 2013.


There was an armed robbery by two men with a gun in the parking lot of a Walmart in Lafayette, Louisiana.

From an article:
Police say two black men approached the victim at gunpoint and demanded his personal property. The victim handed over his belongings, and the suspects fled the scene. The victim was not injured.

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Michigan teen uses realistic-looking air pistol in attempted robbery at Walmart

Occurred July 11, 2013.


Three patrons were just outside a Walmart store in Lyons Township, Michigan, when 17-year old Jonathan Hakkon Dahl approached them and pulled out a handgun.  He threatened to shoot them unless they gave him money, saying it was for a drug debt.  One of the victims then went into the store under the pretense of getting Dahl money, but called 911 instead.  Dahl was subsequently arrested.

The gun turned out to be a CO2 pistol.

Two of the victims were 19, another was 18.

From an article:
Authorities report that Dahl was waving a “handgun” — what was later described by authorities as a Umarex CO-2 pistol — at the victims, demanding money. 
“(He) told the victims he needed money to pay someone back for drugs,” said Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Chris Wundrach in a Friday press release. “He also told the victims that if he didn’t get the money, that some people were going to shoot up his neighborhood with AK-47 (rifles).” 
One of the victims, a woman, convinced Dahl that the trio would go into the store, get money out of the ATM inside and bring it to him, deputies reported. 
The woman called 911 once she was inside the Wal-Mart, while Dahl remained outside in front of the big box store. 
When deputies arrived, Dahl led them on short chase, but he was caught and taken into custody shortly after.
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Carjacking at gunpoint by four teen gang members at a Georgia Walmart

Occurred July 6, 2013.
Scene of armed carjacking at Peachtree City Walmart



Four teen boys, one aged 14, the others 16, who were apparently in a street gang, carjacked a woman at a Walmart store in Peachtree City, Georgia.  Luckily, the female victim was not injured.

The teens then ran through a police checkpoint with the stolen car and a chase ensued.  The driver crashed the car and was arrested.  The other three teens escaped, but were eventually tracked down and arrested as well.

From an article and video (which gives names of suspects):
Three teenagers – all 16 years of age – are also under arrest in connection with the armed carjacking that happened in front of the Walmart last Saturday afternoon. 
Peachtree City police say the Zaviaire Baitley, of Atlanta, approached a shopper around 2:30 p.m. at the Walmart on Georgia Highway 54 and stole their car at gunpoint. Baitley then sped off in the vehicle. 
Officers responding to the scene set up a perimeter at the major intersections of the city. Minutes later, police located Baitley driving the stolen vehicle traveling northbound on Highway 74 from Highway 54, police said.  
Baitley refuses to stop at a checkpoint and a police went after the stolen car. 
A high-speed chase caught on video, and exclusively obtained by FOX 5 News, shows the suspect weaving in and out of traffic and running stop signs and red lights.  
Baitley avoided Stop Sticks deployed by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office in the area of Hwy. 74 at Milam Road, continuing northbound on Hwy 74.  From I-85 northbound, the pursuit continued on Interstate I-285.   
Police say Baitley was involved in a motor vehicle collision while exiting the interstate at the intersection of Cascade Road and I-285, in Fulton County, where he was taken into custody. 
Police worked through the night to try to find Baitley's accomplices. They caught up with two of them --Demetrious Watson and Nathan Gullatte, both of Palmetto. 
All four teens are charged with armed robbery, hijacking a motor Vehicle and participation in a criminal street gang. Baitley, in addition to the above charges, faces felony attempt to elude, numerous traffic charges and illegal drug possession.  

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