A robber is dead, another suspect is in custody, a baby is safe, and two people are recovering in the hospital following an armed robbery attempt at a Shawnee, KS Walmart on Sunday night that was thwarted by a concealed carrier who saved three lives.
Police are investigating after a shooting in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart on Shawnee Mission Parkway off Interstate 435.
Police said the incident began when two suspects approached a woman in the parking lot putting her baby in a car seat, and hit the woman in the head. That’s when a Good Samaritan stepped in to help her, and was subsequently shot multiple times by one of the suspects.
Another bystander then shot one of the suspects, who died at the scene. The other suspect fled the scene, but was caught by a K-9 team east of the Wal-Mart.
The mother was taken to the hospital with critical head injuries. The Shawnee Police later said she was upgraded to fair condition and may be released from the hospital soon. The baby was unharmed.
The bystander who was shot was also taken to a hospital with critical injuries. Police later said that person was awake and alert, and underwent surgery on Sunday.
As of Monday morning, one of the suspects was being held in the Wyandotte County jail on a warrant. Police say they used Wal-Mart surveillance video to help track down the suspect.
It was brave of the unarmed man stepping in to try to help this mother under attack by these armed robbers, but it was smart of the concealed carrier to be armed and skilled with his handgun so that he was able to end the threat and send the remaining bad guy running for his life.
A police K9 and Walmart security camera footage quickly led to a second suspect being arrested.
His mom, of course, swears that he was innocent.
The remaining suspect can be charged for the first degree murder of his fellow robber under Kansas’ implementation of the felony murder rule, which holds that any participant in a felony that ends in death of anyone involved can be charged with first degree murder.
“It happened at Walmart!” is becoming something of a dark joke, thanks to the serious crime problem that seems to be dogging the discount shopping chain, nationwide.
I personally don’t go there if I can help it, and when I do go, I go armed, just because incidents like this are hardly rare.
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