Shooter dead after injuring four by opening fire in busy supermarket
A shooter has been confirmed dead after injuring four when he opened fire at a Walmart supermarket.
Videos posted to social media showed a large police presence at the Walmart Supercenter in Beavercreek, Ohio. The footage shows multiple cop cars in the parking lot of the store, which is just across the street from a Sam's Club. Both stores were placed on lockdown during the incident, according to police scanner audio.
Employees from the Walmart were evacuated to nearby Burger King. Those injured were transported to local hospitals, the police scanner revealed. The Beavercreek Police Department confirmed the injuries and the death of the shooter on Monday evening on their X feed, an app formerly known as Twitter.
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"A male walked into the Walmart in Beavercreek around 8:35 p.m. Monday and began firing a gun, injuring four people. The victims were transported to area hospitals and their conditions are unknown at this time," the department wrote. It added: "A fifth person, the shooter, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. No shots were fired by any responding police officers."
Man in 30s dies after being stabbed in park sparking police probeIn a Facebook post, the department said the Walmart "has been cleared and secured" where the shooting occurred as it emphasized that "there is no active threat at this time."
More information was promised as it becomes available. The department concluded: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families impacted by this horrific tragedy."
That particular Walmart store is the same location where 22-year-old John Crawford III was killed by the police in 2014 after wielding a BB gun that was for sale. The Black man had been holding it while on the phone, with one witness saying he had been pointing it at other customers.
The gun had been unwrapped. The police responded to the scene and ended up shooting Crawford, who died later at the hospital, CBS News reported.
Protests and calls for action against the officers erupted, with the NAACP stating that the killing was unjust. Another woman died of a heart attack after fleeing the scene, it was reported.
One witness at the scene of the most recent shooting, which took place just after 9pm local time on Monday in the suburb of Dayton, Ohio, said in a video posted to X that her nerves "are shot" after narrowly avoiding the carnage.
"How does this even happen?" she demanded, then described the shooter as a "tall, young white guy" who had an Army bookbag on. "I was confused. I thought he had a BB gun. It was like a long assault rifle, and he just started shooting after he walked past me," she continued. "My nerves are shot right now."
Walmart released a statement about the incident, saying: "We’re heartbroken by what’s happened at our Beavercreek, Ohio store. This remains a developing situation, and we’re working closely with investigators on the scene. All questions should be directed to local law enforcement."
The incident comes a day after a different shooter opened fire at a different Walmart in Anchorage, Alaska, leaving a man and a woman dead. The shooter remains at large.