SOUTHAVEN, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on a deadly shooting at a north Mississippi Walmart (all times local):
4:50 p.m.
A man accused of killing two people at a north Mississippi Walmart is being charged with two counts of murder.
DeSoto County District Attorney John Champion says 39-year-old Martez Tarrell Abram of Southaven was recently suspended from the Walmart after an incident where he showed a knife to a fellow employee.
Champion says Abram remains hospitalized in neighboring Memphis, Tennessee, after he was shot twice by a police officer Tuesday morning outside the Southaven store.
Abram is accused of shooting and killing Brandon Gales of Hernando and Anthony Brown of Olive Branch, both Walmart employees.
The prosecutor says Abram is out of surgery and will be returned to Mississippi to face charges once he recuperates. Champion says guns and a vehicle were recovered and Abram’s apartment was later searched.
Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore says the suspect shot an officer who was saved by his bulletproof vest before a second officer shot the suspect twice.
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2:45 p.m.
A Mississippi coroner has identified the second person killed in a shooting at a Mississippi Walmart.
DeSoto County Coroner Joshua Pounders says 38-year-old Anthony Brown of Olive Branch died of an apparent gunshot wound Tuesday at the store in Southaven. The city is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.
Employees say Brown was a store manager who was shot inside the store.
Family members earlier said Walmart employee Brandon Gales of Hernando was also shot and killed.
Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore says the suspect shot an officer who was saved by his bulletproof vest before a second officer shot the suspect twice. The unnamed suspect was taken for surgery at a Memphis hospital. No charges have yet been announced.
Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite says the suspect is a disgruntled Walmart employee.
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12:15 p.m.
A brother is identifying one of two people killed in a shooting Tuesday at a Mississippi Walmart.
Nicholas Gales tells The Associated Press that his brother Brandon Gales was shot and killed Tuesday at the store in Southaven, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.
Employees say Gales was shot in a parking lot outside the store, while a second employee was shot inside the store. Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore says the suspect shot an officer who was saved by his bulletproof vest before a second officer shot the suspect twice. The unnamed suspect is in surgery at a Memphis hospital.
Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite says the suspect is a disgruntled Walmart employee.
Travis Jones, a stocker at the store, says Gales was a close friend, calling him an “all-around good guy.” He says he and Gales grew up together in nearby Hernando and that Gales had multiple children.
Jones said he also saw the body of a store manager on the floor as he ran from the store.
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11:15 a.m.
The mayor of Southaven, Mississippi says a disgruntled Walmart worker is responsible for the shootings that killed two co-workers and wounded an officer Tuesday morning.
Mayor Darren Musselwhite said the gunman had a grievance. The town’s police chief, Macon Moore, says he got into a shootout with officers in a Walmart parking lot after killing the store employees. Moore says one officer was “saved by his vest” before the second officer shot the suspect twice.
The chief said the suspect was in surgery after being taken to a hospital in neighboring Memphis, Tennessee.
Workers said he shot one person in the store parking lot around 6:30 a.m. Tuesday before entering the store and shooting a second person.
Moore says the wounded officer is recovering. He says police continue seeking to clear the store, in part because they had to call in a bomb squad for a suspicious package.
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8:45 a.m.
Officials say two people are dead and a police officer and a suspect were shot at a Walmart in the northern Mississippi city of Southaven, a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee.
WREG-TV reports both of the people who died Tuesday morning were Walmart employees. WHBQ-TV reports one person was found dead in the store and another found dead in the parking lot.
The suspect was taken to a Memphis hospital. His condition wasn’t reported.
Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto tells WATN-TV the officer was hit in his bulletproof vest and not seriously injured.
The Walmart is in a shopping complex in Southaven, just south of Memphis. A massive police presence surrounded the store Tuesday morning.
Walmart employees joined a prayer circle outside. The company didn’t immediately respond to phone calls and information requests.
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