Gunman Shoots Two At Walmart In Washington State Before Being Killed By Armed Civilian
An armed civilian took down a shooter after at least two people were shot at a Washington state Walmart, Kiro7 reports.
Around 6 p.m. local time, local law enforcement responded to reports of shots fired inside and outside of the Walmart in Tumwater, Washington. Witnesses told Kiro7 that they had heard multiple gunshots and witnessed a carjacking at the crime scene.
“I looked over and saw hundreds of people running out…. Just a flood of people and everyone was screaming and frantic…. When we got about to the door, I heard someone say, ‘Gun. Shooter.’ And I knew something was serious,” a witness said.
Another witness, a woman named Megan Chadwick, said her husband saw an armed civilian take down the shooter.
“There were three civilians going after him to shoot him and two of them had their guns up and then the third guy shot him through the window of the car,” Chadwick said, adding that her own husband was carrying a weapon as well.
Tumwater Police Department public information officer Jen Kolb confirmed that a man who was an attempted carjacking victim shot and killed the suspect.
According to the Washington Post, local police received a call about a possible drunk driver heading the wrong way. Once they arrived at the crime scene, they found a 16-year-old girl with unspecified injuries and promptly located the stolen car. After that, they started getting numerous calls of shots fired in a nearby Walmart.
Armed civilian kills gunman, stops shooting spree at Tumwater, Wash., Walmart https://t.co/gpZ0teL02h
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) June 18, 2018
Witnesses told The Post that they had heard at least 15 gunshots. Police later confirmed that the man doing the shooting was the same person involved in the carjacking.
The man, according to a witness, entered the Walmart, fired shots at a display case, then went into the parking lot where he attempted to carjack a vehicle, shooting the driver twice. The gunman then attempted a second carjacking which is when, WaPo noted, two armed civilians confronted the suspect.
The victim of the second carjacking attempt is in critical condition.
Other witnesses said at least three civilians pulled guns in the parking lot – although police reported just two – and one of them shot at the suspect, killing him.
“He is a hero. If this customer hadn’t done what he did, who knows what would have happened,” a witness said.
A similar incident occurred at an Oklahoma City restaurant in May this year, as CNN reported, when an armed bystander gunned down a shooter, killing him.
