Security officer, cashier shot at Portsmouth Food Lion store
PORTSMOUTH, Va. February 9 2024
A shooting at a grocery store left a security officer and another store employee injured Tuesday night.
Police first responded to a report of a shooting at the Food Lion Store on London Blvd. in Portsmouth.
According to police, that’s when they found a cashier and a former security guard were injured by the gunfire. Both of the men are expected to recover.
Those court documents reveal the incident started as a dispute between a customer and the cashier. The customer’s boyfriend, armed with a gun, is accused of inserting himself into the dispute.
Police identified the suspect as 27-year-old Tyler Mercer. He’s been charged with unlawful wounding (2 counts), and assault and battery.
Mercer allegedly entered the store and immediately walked over to the cashier, and grabbed his collar. A struggle ensued, and Mercer retrieved his firearm from his waist. According to the court documents, the cashier grabbed the firearm and Mercer fired the weapon. The cashier received an injury to his hand.
A security officer, who had responded to break up the fight, was struck and received an injury to his leg. At some point, the security officer also “struck Mercer in the head with a weapon to subdue him.”
Mercer is due in court on Feb. 23.