TWO people are dead and a third person is injured after a man opened fire inside a Walmart.
The alleged gunman, a store employee, then left the store and broke into a nearby home, where he killed a woman, police say.
The suspect was working at the retailer in Atlanta, Georgia, at 1:30 am on Friday when he went outside to grab a handgun, Atlanta News First reported.
Police reported that he went back inside and shot and killed one of his co-workers.
The suspect then shot another employee standing outside of the store, leaving the employee in critical condition, police said.
After shooting the two employees at the retailer, police said the suspect broke into a woman’s house two miles away and killed her.
Two of the victims have yet to be identified.
However, family members of the woman shot at home identified her as 19-year-old Akeela Clarke and said she was also an employee at the Walmart.
Clarke’s family said that the shooter broke down the front door and allegedly killed the 19-year-old in front of her mother while her sister hid, local Fox affiliate WAGA reported.
“This was not an active shooter situation,” the Newton County sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“The suspect specifically targeted individuals they knew.”
The sheriff’s office described the victims as “acquaintances” of the shooter but didn’t release any possible motives.
Law enforcement said the unnamed suspect was found 150 miles away in Aiken, South Carolina.
Officers at the Aiken County Sheriff’s Office worked together with the Georgia State Patrol to arrest the suspect at 3:55 am.
Officials reported that the gunman shot himself during a standoff between him and law enforcement.
First responders reportedly rushed the suspect to the hospital after the shooting.
Newton County Sheriff’s department statement
On April 11, at approximately 1:30 a.m., Newton County deputies responded to a shooting at the Walmart located on Salem Road. At the time of the incident, the store was closed for business, with only employees present inside.
According to the preliminary investigation, one of the employees exited the building, retrieved a firearm and returned inside. The suspect then located an acquaintance within the store and fatally shot them. The suspect later encountered a second acquaintance outside the Walmart, who was shot and transported to a local hospital in critical condition.
Following the shooting at Walmart, the suspect forced entry into a residence on Emerson Trail, where they located another acquaintance and fatally shot them.
This was not an active shooter situation. The suspect specifically targeted individuals they knew.
The suspect has been apprehended in South Carolina and is currently in custody.
This is an active and ongoing investigation.
No one else is reported to have been injured during the standoff.
Sergeant Jack Redlinger confirmed that the Georgia and South Carolina state patrols, as well as local police departments, worked together to arrest the suspect.
“This is still an active investigation,” Redlinger told local NBC affiliate WXIA.
Newton County deputies and Georgia State Patrol troopers responded to the crime scene.
The shooting at the Covington Walmart isn’t the first time that the store has experienced violence.
In October, two men were arrested after shooting at each other in the Walmart’s parking lot following a disagreement.
