Shots Fired At Walmart In Darien, Illinois, Leaves One Person Injured – Suspect Still At Large
A Walmart in west suburban Darien, Illinois, is reportedly the scene of a shooting that has left at least one person shot. ABC Eyewitness News reports that police have responded to the store where the shots were fired in Darien Town Center shopping mall. Officials have announced that the shooter was allegedly seen leaving the area.
Chief of Police for Darien, Greg Thomas released a statement that revealed that the shooting took place early this afternoon. Emergency crews responded to the Walmart store at approximately 5:41 p.m. Once they arrived police discovered the male who had been the victim of the spring incident still inside the store. Witnesses confirmed that the shooter had fled the location immediately following the altercation.
One man wounded inside Darien Walmart after argument leads to gunfire. https://t.co/3ZwCdf5oiu pic.twitter.com/hEiEH4twcE
— Eric Horng (@EricHorngABC7) December 4, 2015
Authorities only have a vague description of the suspect and even the witnesses were unable to provide full clarity. They did however reveal that prior to the shooting the two men had a heated exchange. In an initial interview Thomas told of what little he knew at the time.
“There was some type of altercation or argument inside the store between the person that was shot and the person that did the shooting, and that’s about as much as I know.”
Only the one male was injured during the shooting and fortunately his injuries proved to be non-life-threatening. According to CBS Chicago the victim was taken to a Good Samaritan hospital in Downers Grove with gun shot wounds to his arm and his torso. Chief Thomas said that the police is thus far unsure if the victim and the shooter knew each other. The argument took place near the Subway in one of the busiest parts of the store and left customers and staff rattled.
Eyewitness News interviewed a witness who claims to have been inside the store at the time of the incident. She said that her first indication of trouble was when she heard a loud “pop” in the market area of the store. At the time she was standing in the customer service line but fled as soon as possible once someone identified the “pop” as gun fire. Uninjured, she was nonetheless left shaken by the unfamiliar experience.
“I was extremely frightened with all the crazy stuff that’s going on that someone was going to be waiting outside the exit for us.”
Many persons are still on edge following the mass shooting in San Bernadino and feared the worse when shots were fired in the busy Walmart and the police arrived in large numbers to the Darien location. According to the many witnesses about three to four shots were fired. Some witnesses said they froze upon hearing the shots fired while one cashier said she told a customer to run and go hide in the back as soon as the gun shots started firing. The same cashier was interviewed and advised that several other customers were seen crying while others were just in a state of shock.
#BREAKING: Multiple people injured after shooting in suburban Walmart: Police https://t.co/grni4kZktV
— NBC Chicago (@nbcchicago) December 4, 2015
Though most reports have stated that only one man was injured, NBC Chicago initially reported that there were multiple victims that were hurt in the shooting, before more information was available.
Police are still on the hunt for the missing Darien Walmart shooter and will continue to interview several witnesses. However, they have now stated that based in information provided by persons on scene they may have an idea of who the shooter is, but thus far he is still not in custody.
The police will continue to follow up on several leads.
[Photo Courtesy of Ken Wolter/ Shutterstock]
