Walmart Shooting as Man Gunned Down Outside South Carolina Store

Police in South Carolina shot a man who was wielding an unidentified weapon outside a Walmart store.

The Easley Police Department confirmed that its officers were called to a Walmart located at 115 Rolling Hills Circle over a suspect causing a disturbance around 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 21.

While responding, officers were informed that the suspect was armed with a weapon. After locating the suspect inside the store, police tried to de-escalate the situation.

At least one officer fired their duty weapon, the Easley Police Department wrote.

While no officer was harmed, the suspect has died, according to local news reports.

"The scene was quickly secured and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was requested," the Easley Police Department wrote. "The scene and investigation have been turned over to SLED."

In response to the shooting, Walmart told Newsweek, "The safety of our associates and customers is a top priority. We are working closely with police as they investigate and refer additional questions to them."

Newsweek contacted the Easley Police Department for comment by email on Monday morning.

A witness to the incident told Cody Alcorn, a journalist at 11Alive, that the suspect was wielding an axe. "I was inside when I heard screaming, someone said it was a guy w/ axe, I grabbed my sister & we exited through [the] stockroom in [the] back," Alcorn reported the witness saying in a post published on X, formerly known as Twitter.

"While running, I heard 1 or 2 gunshots. Was escorted back through Walmart." Alcorn posted a picture that he said was snapped by the witness in Walmart.

According to Alcorn, the incident "involved a man attempting to steal a machete" who after being approached by asset protection and told to leave, "became agitated and began threatening and waving around the weapon."

Police have not confirmed what the weapon held by the suspect was.

The journalist reported that store personnel were trying to evacuate the store when the man ran out of the front door, "just as police arrived."

The coroner's office confirmed to WYFF4 that the suspect died in the shooting, which happened outside the Walmart store.

It's not the first time that a Walmart store has been the scene of a dangerous incident. In late January, the retailer was hit by three separate shootings within the space of two hours. In the same month, a woman and a man were shot at a Walmart checkout in Michigan. In December 2023, a Walmart employee ran over a woman in the store's parking lot in Mountain View, California, as the area was covered by a dense fog.

Walmart has 4,717 stores across the nation, according to numbers shared by Statista. Because of its huge presence in the country, it's statistically likely that the retailer would occasionally be the site of a shooting or other incidents.

Update 4/22/24, 5:10 a.m. ET: This breaking news story was updated to offer more information.

Correction 4/22/24, 6:55 a.m. ET: This article has been corrected to state the shooting took place outside the store, not inside.