Man shot, killed inside Huntersville NC Walmart; suspect in custody
HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. November 6 2018
Local police agencies had a planned training exercise scheduled Monday night which involved the North Mecklenburg Swat and Negotiations team training at the Lake Norman Charter School when a shooting occurred up the street at WalMart in Huntersville.
The two incidents are unrelated.
Police swarmed the store, inside and out, on Bryton Town Center Drive for hours. Huntersville Police Chief Cleveland Spruill told Channel 9 one of his officers was on-duty and working inside the store when the shooting happened.
“We just heard a bunch of gunshots,” said Walmart employee Christian Diaz.
Diaz said he rushed to get people out of the store’s back door when gunshots rang out just after 6 p.m.
Eyewitness News anchor Liz Foster asked him what was going through his head.
“Get out,” he said.
That was Denise Burton’s main focus too. She and her daughter were in the bank at the front of the store at the time.
“I don’t want to be a sitting duck so as soon as I saw the coast was clear, I just wanted to get my daughter out of there,” Burton said.
Spruill said a man was shot and killed near the produce section.
The shooter is in custody, police said, but no names have been released.
“At this point, we’re still trying to piece together exactly what his involvement was and what role he played,” Spruill said.
Police blocked every entrance to the store and checked the IDs of terrified shoppers wanting to go home. They were getting people’s information in case they were a witness.
“With everything going on, you just don’t want to be sitting there,” Burton said.
Foster asked the police chief if the shooter and victim knew each other, and what the possible motive was. He said it was too early in the investigation to determine the answer.
Statement from Walmart:
“We are deeply saddened by what has happened. We are thankful for the quick actions by the Huntersville Police Department that has resulted in an arrest. We are working closely with law enforcement. Since this is an active investigation, we will refer additional questions to them.
WSOCTV
