Video taken during a fatal hostage situation at a Walmart on Wednesday has surfaced on social media.
In the video, a woman is holding a handgun against a nervous Walmart employee at what appears to be the front of the store in Richland, Mississippi. The woman anxiously taps her foot, looks around, talks and shouts, but it isn’t clear what she says.
After prodding the employee to walk, she notices she is being filmed and shouts, “Hey, I’m not trying to hurt anybody.” The person recording her responds, “Why don’t you let her go, then, please?”
The incident ended with Richland police officers fatally shooting the armed woman, local outlet WAPT reported. No one else was injured.
The woman has not yet been identified, but the county coroner said she was not from Mississippi.
WAPT interviewed a shopper who arrived at the scene as it was unfolding.
“[We] barely got in,” they said. “People were running out, and people were screaming ‘Get out’ to me and my cousin, so of course we ran out, and it was just horrifying. And then we heard the gunshots, and of course there’s 15 police cars here. … It’s just terrifying.”
Richland Police Chief Nick McLendon said the situation was “devastating for all parties involved,” including the officers, WAPT reported.
He also said people should maintain a “see something, say something” attitude, particularly amid holiday season stress.
“You know, with the Christmas season coming, mental health is a big deal because of the stress involved in the Christmas season,” McLendon said.
The situation was first reported around 5:45 p.m., and the police announced its end two hours later, according to WAPT.
The officer-involved shooting is being independently investigated by the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, WAPT reported.
