Walmart Security Guard Fights Off Armed Shoplifting Suspect Who Opened Fire [Video]

A Walmart security guard bravely tackled an alleged shoplifter who reportedly fired one round with a handgun.

This heroic action prevented anyone else, employees or customers, from being harmed in the potentially lethal altercation.

The incident recently occurred at a Walmart store in the town of Lithonia located in DeKalb County, Georgia.

Things got started when loss prevention officers (corporate speak for security staff) brought the individual in question to the Atlanta-area store’s security office and asked him to empty his pockets because they apparently thought he might be engaging in shoplifting.

That’s when he allegedly tussled with the staffers, pulled a gun from a paper bag, and opened fire in the encounter captured on surveillance footage. See the WSB-TV news video embedded below.

“Police say the loss prevention officer wrestled the suspect to the ground. His colleagues credit him with allowing them to escape, ” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

The suspect fled the scene and is still at large at this writing. Cops are looking for him on outstanding warrants for three counts of aggravated assault.

A follow-up report by the AJC provided further details on the alleged Walmart shooting incident.

“Authorities were seeking Marty Williamston, 36, of LaFollette, Tenn. on aggravated assault charges. Williamston had been detained by store security agent Kevin Qualls at the Walmart on Fairington Road after 10 p.m. on June 16, according to the police incident report. Qualls said he was processing Williamston in a store office when Williamson pulled a handgun from a brown bag and pointed it at manager Johnny Bolton, the report stated. Qualls said he wrestled Williamston to the floor and then Williamston fired one shot, according to the report, and fled in a sedan, leaving behind his bag and wallet.”

Separately, the retail giant has established strict policies for dealing with potential thieves. For example, a Walmart security guard was fired last November for using too much force in taking down an alleged shoplifter in a way that countered company policy. In February, a Walmart manager was terminated for gross misconduct after subduing an alleged shoplifter across the street from the store in violation of corporate policy banning pursuits outside the immediate vicinity of the store.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J65_hSES-sk

Walmart made national headlines earlier this month when two women brawled in the shampoo aisle of an Indiana store. One of the combatants faces child neglect charges for getting her 6-year-old son involved in the melee.