Police were called to a Baton Rouge Walmart Tuesday after two men having an altercation reportedly fired shots at one another, hitting one bystander.
One suspect is reportedly in custody and police are still looking the second suspect from the incident which occurred around 11:45 a.m., police told WAFB.
An innocent bystander in a check-out line was wounded, East Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux told reporters. The injured 42-year-old man drove to a local hospital and is in stable condition, police said. (RELATED: 20 People Dead After El Paso Shooting, Governor Says)
Baton Rouge Sheriff Sid Gautreaux holds news conference August 6, 2019 about a shooting that reportedly occurred at a Baton Rouge Walmart. Photo screenshot courtesy of WAFB.
Gautreaux said they were on the scene within minutes, and it was no longer an active shooter situation. Police are looking for a man described as a slightly built, thin, black male wearing black shorts and a black shirt.
Both men reportedly had hand guns, one of which was recovered by police.
Dana Jones, a customer who heard the shooting but did not witness the incident, told reporters she heard a customer scream ‘He’s got a gun!’ and described ‘pop-pop-pop’ sounds shortly afterward, according to an interview she gave to WAFB.
Jones said customers ran for the doors.”This is just unbelievable. I just pray nobody got hurt,” she added.
“You know you can’t be too careful in a Walmart,” Jones said she heard another customer say.
“Today, a shooting at a Walmart on Burbank Drive in the southern part of the City-Parish caused a brief panic for shoppers still on edge after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio this weekend. It was a dispute between two people that escalated into careless violence,” Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome said in a statement obtained by WAFB.
“The incident is still under investigation. An innocent bystander did go to the hospital with a gunshot wound but no other injuries have been reported,” the statement concluded.
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