On Sunday, June 17, a man who had attempted to carjack three vehicles was shot dead by an armed civilian in a Walmart parking lot, ending an erratic police chase that began near Tumwater High School, Washington, reported Fox News.
The first carjacking occurred at an intersection near Tumwater High School where police found a 16-year-old girl who had been injured and had her car stolen. While police were interviewing the girl, they received another call saying that more shots had been fired at a nearby Walmart Supercenter where another carjacking was taking place.
According to police, it is believed that the suspect drove the first stolen vehicle to Walmart where he attempted to swap it for another vehicle.
By the time the police arrived at the parking lot, the suspect had been shot. The suspect had abandoned the first stolen car and was attempting to carjack another vehicle. When a driver in one of the vehicles the suspect approached did not co-operate, the suspect shot the driver, Tumwater Police spokeswoman Laura Wohl said, reported The Seattle Times.
As the suspect tried to carjack a third vehicle, he was shot dead by the owner who was armed, reported The Seattle Times.
The first victim, a 16 year-old girl, was injured but hot seriously hurt.
The second victim, who was shot by the suspect, was left in critical condition and transported to Harborview Medical Center by air ambulance.
Wohl said that she did not know if the suspect had entered the Walmart building.
Darren Gossler of Elma, who was in store at the time of the shootings, said she heard five or six pops while in store, and then ran out an emergency exit to get to her car, where she heard four more pops.
“I was in the dairy section. Heard about 5 or 6 pops. Ran out a side emergency exit and attempted to run to my car in the parking lot but heard 4 more pops in the lot. Caught a quick glimpse of a male with what appeared to be a handgun,” Gossler said.
Kailani Bailey, who was also inside the Supercenter at the time, said that a tall man entered the store and was shoving people out of the way. Moments later, popping sounds were heard inside the store.
“Then somebody yelled, ‘Run, run!’ and everyone took off,” Bailey said.
Brian Adams, who was shopping at Walmart and took cover in the parking lot said: “This guy could have taken out more people, wounded or killed.”
According to The Seattle Times, the suspect’s body remained lying in the parking lot for several hours while police conducted an extensive search in the area for shell casing and other evidence.
The investigation is continuing.
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