Arizona Walmart Brawl Video: Shooting Suspects Identified In The 17-Person Walmart Fight
When police officers arrested a whole family in the aftermath of the Arizona Walmart brawl the entire family refused to divulge their names. The 17-person Walmart brawl was so intense that three people were shot, with one of the family members dying from his gunshot wounds.
In a related report by the Inquisitr, Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves says the Walmart fight started with a store employee while in the store bathroom, but when police officers arrived the family went for their weapons.
“We do believe that there was a struggle for an officer’s weapon, there is an ongoing investigation on that,” Graves said. “This is a very complex investigation, we are still sorting things out and there are a lot of witnesses to talk to, so we are in the early stages. We were asked by Cottonwood police to conduct a criminal investigation.”
Witnesses of the Arizona Walmart brawl say they heard screaming and saw people running around while firing guns. One suspect was shot and killed by police while another suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The Walmart employee sustained a broken arm, but a police officer was shot in the leg and had to be flown to a hospital in Flagstaff, Arizona, for surgery. Seven other police officers sustained minor injuries.
Cottonwood police spokesman Sgt. Tod Moore says there have been three officer-involved shootings during his six years in investigations, but the Arizona Walmart brawl is unique because of the suspects.
“What makes this one unique was the whole family assaulting our officers,” Moore said, according to AZ Central. “It was out of the blue. This family has been in Cottonwood for a month or two.”
According to JRN, the Walmart shooting suspects have been identified as 52-year-old Ruth Gaver, 55-year-old Peter Gaver, 27-year-old Nathaniel Gaver, 27, and 28-year-old Jeremiah Gaver. Two unidentified juveniles from the Gaver family are currently in custody at the Prescott Juvenile Detention Center. The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has identified Enoch Gaver as the man who died during the Walmart brawl.
The man who was shot in the stomach has been identified as David Gaver. He is currently hospitalized and is recovering from his gunshot wound.
The entire Gaver family had been living inside a Chevrolet Suburban parked in the Walmart parking lot for a couple of days. The family members were part of a local band that has been known as both Matthew 24 Now and Busking In The Son. Witnesses say the family had been panhandling by playing a guitar near the Walmart entrance. They also had a cardboard sign with a Bible verse written on it.
Peter, Nathaniel, Ruth and Jeremiah Gaver will appear in court on March 31, 2015. Due to the Arizona Walmart brawl, they have been charged with assault on a law enforcement officer, assault and hindering prosecution, and attempted homicide.
[Image via YouTube]
