Escaped convict with boxcutter shot by police at construction site of Iowa Walmart

Occurred August 4, 2013.


A convict, Michael Hannum, 52, who had escaped a work-release facility was found at a Walmart construction site, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.  Police responded, at which point Hannum attacked them with a box cutter.  After a failed attempt to stun him, the officers then shot him twice.  He is now in critical condition.

From an article:

Two police officers encountered Hannum Sunday afternoon at the construction site of a future Wal-Mart after a woman called 911 and reported a man acting suspiciously, bleeding from his hands, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. 

Armed with a box cutter, Hannum allegedly refused officers commands and became aggressive. Officer Jason Burleigh shot a stun gun at Hannum but it failed to connect, said DCI Special Agent Mitch Mortvedt. 

When Hannum continued to advance toward the officers, Officer Aaron Gutierrez fired two shots, hitting him in the chest and abdomen, Mortvedt said. 

Hannum was transported to University of Nebraska Medical Center where as of Monday afternoon he was listed in critical but stable condition. 

At the time of the incident, the officers did not know Hannum’s identity. 

The blood on Hannum’s hands was from a self-inflicted cut and investigators have no evidence indicating he assaulted anyone else, Mortvedt said.

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Two dead in shooting that started at California Walmart parking lot

Occurred August 2, 2013.

Where the shooting began at Porterville Walmart
(from Google Maps)

Two men died in a shooting that began in the parking lot of a Walmart in Porterville, California.

Multiple shots were fired between two groups in the parking lot.  The battle continued as the groups got into vehicles and drove off through the city, continuing to fire at each other, until one vehicle rammed another and they crashed.

From an article:

According to police, the fatal shoot out began when a man driving a white Lexus SUV came out of Office Max in the shopping center and got into a confrontation with two men in a brown GMC Yukon. Witness told of a horrifying scene where more than 10 shots were fired and then ducking for cover. (See accompanying story). 

The shooting continued as the two victims left in the Yukon, chased by the man in his vehicle. They went west on Henderson Avenue. Witnesses said the two vehicles were ramming each other as they traveled down Henderson, eventually both of them crashing. 

Witnesses also reported hearing gun shots just before the Yukon was rammed and lost control. It ended up straddling the median, facing north, on Henderson right about in front of the Vietnam War memorial and across from the basketball courts at Monache High School. 

“The guy in the white car smacked them and pushed them onto the divider,” said witness John Wilson, who said the sound of gunshots caught his attention. 

Wilson and another witness, Blake Bond, said the Lexus also spun around and the driver quickly got out and ran over to the Yukon and retrieved two backpacks. “He grabbed them and ran to his car,” said Bond. 

It was at that time a Porterville motorcycle officer who was responding to the numerous 9-1-1 calls about the Office Max shooting, caught up to the scene and arrested the Lexus driver at gun point. .... 

The back window, the driver’s side window and the front passenger side window of the Yukon all appeared to have been shot out. Bullet holes were also evident in the windshield of that vehicle, but there did not appear to be any shattered windows on the Lexus. 

Witnesses said no shots were fired once the two vehicles stopped. 

The Yukon had damage on the passenger side and the Lexus on the driver’s side from the ramming. Parts of the vehicles were left along the roadway. Dempsie agreed they had about a quarter of a mile long crime scene and it would take time to sort everything out.

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Man's truck stolen at gunpoint in Texas Walmart parking lot

Occurred August 1, 2013.


A man had his truck stolen at gunpoint in the parking lot of a Walmart in Conroe, Texas.

From an article:

"Just rushed him, stuck a gun in his side, demanded his car keys -- which the victim readily gave -- and then took off in the vehicle," said Sgt. Dorcy Riddle with the Conroe Police Department.
Police say around 9am the suspect held up the man in the parking lot of the Walmart in Conroe. 

The man was not seriously hurt. 

Investigators believe this may be the same man who carjacked someone at a Petsmart parking lot earlier this week.

Only the day before, there was a fatal shooting of a shoplifter by police at a Walmart (the same one?) in Conroe.

And back in February, a man shot himself to death at the pharmacy of a Walmart in Conroe (the same one??).

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Armed robbery by gunman in South Carolina Walmart parking lot

Occurred July 31, 2013.


A Walmart employee in Columbia, South Carolina, was leaving and walking to her car when a man walked up and robbed her at gunpoint of her cell phone, ID, and keys, then the robber fled in a car driven by a 17-year old girl.

Both of the suspects were soon captured and the materials were given back to the owner.

From an article:

Mason Gibbs, 20, and Janae Brabham, 17, have both been placed under arrest and charged with armed robbery.

According to the report, the victim was leaving work around 10:50pm Monday, and was approached by Mason Gibbs, who presented a gun, demanding her cell phone, work ID, and keys.

Gibbs then allegedly fled on foot, and was seen by a Richland County Deputy getting in to a red Volvo, driven by Janae Brabham.

Deputies quickly stopped the vehicle and recovered the victim's stolen items, as well as the gun use during the crime.

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Shoplifter fires gun into floor at Ohio Walmart

Occurred July 31, 2013.


Two men were witnessed shoplifting in a Colerain Township, Ohio, Walmart store.  When loss-prevention staff confronted them, a fight ensued, and one of them pulled out a handgun and shot it into the floor.  

Luckily, no one was injured.  One of the suspects escaped.

From an article:

Mohammad Stewart, 19, is charged with complicity to aggravated robbery and complicity to burglary, police said, and warrants have also been signed for G Quan Palmer, 18, on charges of aggravated robbery and burglary.

The charges stem from an incident at the store, 8451 Colerain Ave., on Monday. Around 2:30 p.m., “Mohammad Stewart and G Quan Palmer were observed committing a theft offense,” a news release said.

Loss-prevention officers tried to stop both suspects, and “Palmer produced a handgun. At some point during the struggle, Palmer discharged the weapon into the ground,” the release said. No one was injured.

Colerain Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Unit worked with loss-prevention officers and others to identify Palmer and Stewart as the suspects. Colerain detectives arrested Stewart on Tuesday without incident. “Stewart confessed to the aggravated robbery and also to a burglary that occurred earlier in the month,” a news release said.

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Another policeman shoots and kills a Walmart shoplifter in Texas

Occurred July 31, 2013.

Shoplifter Rios and the scene of the shooting at Conroe Walmart

(UPDATED -- see below)

As with a shooting at a Walmart two days before, a law-enforcement officer shot and killed a shoplifter at a Texas Walmart, this time in Conroe, Texas.

A 19-year old was witnessed shoplifting.  When police arrived, the shoplifter ran, and was pursued into the woods next door.  A fight ensued, and the law enforcement officer shot the shoplifter to death.

From an article:

Just before 7:30, dispatch received a call from loss prevention officers inside of the Wal-Mart located at 1407 North Loop 336 West, Sgt. Dorcy Riddle said. The employees said that they were trying to detain Rios for shoplifting but the he was not cooperating. 

Rios fought with loss prevention and ran, Riddle said. An off-duty CPD officer observed the struggle and gave chase into the adjacent wooded area near the Interstate 45 feeder road. 

The officer continued to pursue Rios into the woods on his own and Rios allegedly began fighting with the officer, Riddle said. The struggle intensified, with Rios allegedly strangling the officer to the point that he believed he was going to pass out. 

The officer fired his weapon and struck Rios, killing him, Riddle said.

(a related page)

In February, another Walmart shooting occurred at Conroe, perhaps at the same store, where a man shot himself to death over marital issues at the pharmacy.

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UPDATE (10/1/13):  The shooter, Officer Jason Blackwelder, has been indicted on one count of manslaughter and for tampering with records in the account of what happened that night.

UPDATE (11/27/13):  Officer Blackwelder has been indicted on manslaughter. The teen was supposedly choking Blackwelder when he was shot, but forensic analysis shows that Rios was shot in the back of the head.  From an article and video:

Conroe police initially said that Rios was fighting with Blackwelder and choking him, which implied self-defense. 

Blackwelder was indicted in September by a Montgomery County grand jury on a charge of manslaughter. 

The suit was filed in federal court in Houston. The family's attorney, Ryan MacLeod of Beaumont, says that a forensic exam shows Rios was shot in the back of the head. 

The suit is asking for unspecified damages. But most of all, the attorney says, the Rios family wants answers about the teenager's death. Rios had just gotten a part-time job as a bank teller and was a student at Lone Star College.

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Off duty officer shoots and kills Walmart shoplifter in Texas

Occurred July 28, 2013.

Scene of fatal shooting at Garland Walmart (source)

An off-duty police officer, working security, caught a shoplifter, in a Garland, Texas, Walmart.  The shoplifter ran, but after the officer tasered him, attacked the officer with a crowbar, at which point the officer fired a shot and hit the shoplifter in the chest, killing him.

From an article:

[Police spokesman] Harn said the man ran outside after the officer attempted to stop him on his way out through the outdoor living section’s sliding doors just before 4 p.m. 

The officer used his Taser on the man, but it appeared to have no effect. 

Harn said the man then came at the officer with a crowbar, one of the items police accused him of stealing from the store. 

After the man returned to the store through the sliding doors, the officer fired one shot, hitting him in the chest, Harn said. The officer had warned him to stop, police said. 

He was taken to Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas, where he died shortly after 8:20 p.m. 

Harn said the identity of the man will be released after his family is notified of his death.

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