A man and woman have died in an apparent murder-suicide inside a Walmart in Georgia, police said.
The shooting took place at about 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Walmart Supercenter on Jimmy Lee Smith Parkway in Hiram, a town about 20 miles northwest of Atlanta.
The man and woman died on the way to the hospital, Hiram Police Chief Michael Turner said. Their names were not immediately released.
"This was not an active shooter. This was one person knew another person, there was some kind of former relationship," Turner said, according to WAGA-TV. Newsweek has contacted the Hiram Police Department for further comment via email.
Nobody else was hurt in the shooting, but some said they heard gunfire.
Devani Lopez said he ran when he heard gunshots inside the store.
"As soon as a heard the second shot, I ran straight for the exit," Lopez told the station. "I ran straight for the car. I could see everyone running for their lives. Everyone was just so panicked and scared. I ran straight for my car I didn't drive off, I just hid in the back seat."
In a statement, Walmart said: "We're heartbroken by what happened at our Hiram store tonight.
"Our priority, right now, is the safety of our associates and customers. The store will remain closed while we work with law enforcement during their investigation."
The incident comes after a young girl was injured in a shooting at a Walmart store in South Carolina last month.
And in November last year, a Walmart manager opened fire inside the break room of a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, killing six people. The man was dead when officers arrived at the store.
Analysis by Guns Down America, an advocacy group, found there were 536 incidents of gun violence, resulting in 186 deaths, at 12 of the nation's largest grocery store chains between January 1, 2020 and November 22, 2022, the day the Chesapeake Walmart shooting happened.
Walmart was the deadliest place to shop, according to the data, with 363 gun incidents resulting in 112 gun deaths. It was followed by Kroger, with 45 gun incidents and 20 gun deaths; Food Lion, with 32 gun incidents and 21 gun deaths, and Safeway, with 27 gun incidents and 11 gun deaths.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "988" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.
Update 9/21/23, 3:30 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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