Why are there so many shooting incidents and other gun crimes on Walmart property?

Friday, November 23, 2012

Two wounded in shooting at Tallahassee Walmart on Black Friday

Scene of shooting at Tallahassee Walmart
In what appears to be a dispute over a parking space, two people, a man and woman, were wounded in a shooting in the parking lot of a Walmart in Tallahassee, Florida.  It happened on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year.

From an article:



The shots were fired in front of the store on Apalachee Parkway just after noon. 
Just minutes ago, police confirmed the folks were fighting over a parking space. 
The shots were fired on the sidewalk right in front of the parkway Wal Mart. 
Police are trying to find out who fired them. 
John Williams, who was inside the store during shooting, said, "It's scary. Especially in front of a store where people can get hurt, you know. It's scary and it's stupid." 
Witnesses tell us two couples were arguing and at some point a shopping cart hit the side of the car and a man stepped out and started shooting. 
TPD Spokesman David Northway said, "On scene, officers located two victims who have suffered non-life threatening injuries and are currently being treated at a local hospital." 
Stunned shoppers stood outside. Customers who were inside said they heard the shots and people started running. 
"I heard the muffled sounds of shooting. It sounded like five times. People started running towards the back of the store. Some people in quite a shock, said Hoskulbur Fridriksson who was inside the store during shooting. 
Officers say the whole thing may have been caught on tape by surveillance cameras overhead. 
The Wal Mart shut down for more than two hours. Customers coming to check out Black Friday bargains were stunned to find out two people had been shot amidst the crowd.
(a related article)

Walmart.  Save money.  Die faster.



UPDATE (11/25/12):  The suspected shooters have been captured.  From a follow-up article:



Sgt. Ralph Hall said Earl White III, 31, and Tiffany Leanne Yancey, 27, were arrested yesterday after Gadsden County Sheriff's Office officials chased them into Georgia, south of Cairo.
The two were chased by deputies until they reached a road block, which was set up by Grady County deputies. Spikes were deployed and the two suspects crashed into a ridge, ending the chase. Hall said Yancey and White were checked out by EMS before being released back into police custody.
"They're both waiting on authorities from Florida to come and start the extradition process," he said.
UPDATE (11/27/12):  The shooting began as a parking dispute, but turned into an attempted robbery gone wrong.  From an article:


Two people, a man and a woman, were injured in the shooting, which began after they pulled into the Apalachee Parkway store’s parking lot around noon and honked at a car blocking the lane in front of the grocery store entrance.
The driver of the car, Earl White III, 31, pulled out of the way while an occupant, Tiffany Yancey, 27, jumped out of the passenger side and began approaching the victims’ car with a handgun, according tocourt records.
The male victim ran inside the store when he saw the woman with a handgun, according to TPD’s probable-cause affidavit. Yancey walked up to the female victim, pointed the gun in her face and struck her several times before demanding, “Give me everything in your purse,” according to court records.
The woman was knocked to the ground, and White and Yancey both hit and kicked her while trying to steal her purse. At one point, Yancey dropped the gun, but White retrieved it. White pointed it at the male victim as he was coming out of the store.
White and Yancey got back into their car and began driving off, but the male victim tried to stop them by pushing a shopping cart in the way of their car. White then got out of the car and started shooting, according to court records.
The male victim was shot in the buttocks, the groin and his lower right leg. The female victim was shot in the right biceps. Police have said their injuries were not life-threatening. ....

White and Yancey are facing charges in Tallahassee of attempted murder, attempted robbery with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. They also are facing drug charges in Georgia after deputies found pills in their car, said Robert Simmons, an investigator with the Grady County Sheriff’s Office. White also faces numerous charges related to the car chase.
According to court records, both White and Yancey have felony convictions in Georgia. White was convicted of burglary in 2008 and Yancey was convicted of forgery in 2009.

UPDATE (12/1/12): A related article with some additional details and pics of the suspects.