From corporate media.
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. -- Customers are waiting to return to a parking lot Friday to retrieve their cars where police shot and killed a shoplifting suspect at the Walmart in Federal Way [outside Seattle] Thursday, [July 21].
The shooting happened at the store on South 314th Street in the parking lot that was crowded with shoppers. Police said the store's loss prevention officers were following a man they spotted shoplifting inside the store at about 5:30 p.m. and called officers. When the man came outside and officers approached him, the man fled, police said.
A short distance later, police said, the man turned around and reached down to what appeared to be an ankle holster. Police said the officers spotted a gun in the holster and shot the man at about 6 p.m. A gun was recovered from the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
“An officer was just shooting, nine or 10 times. The guy was on the ground. There were cars in the way for me to see the person. He was standing over the top shooting,” said witness Tim Loucks.
“I was scared. I went blank for a while and then my mom took me back inside. Then we found we couldn’t get to our car because they blocked off the whole parking lot,” said Ebony McNeil.
Police detained hundreds of shoppers who were in the store or the parking lot when the shooting erupted. Officers said they wanted to interview all the potential witnesses, and some were stranded for hours.
"I was taking pictures with my baby and we were getting ready to leave and go to what we thought was bowling, but we can't now, we had to leave our car and hopefully have someone come pick us up,” said shopper Remeikca Munroe.
The officer who shot the suspected shoplifter is on administrative leave. Kent police are investigating the shooting. Police did not yet know the man’s identity on Thursday.
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