Man whips gun out in Walmart during morning shopping, blasts person in middle of store, sending customers scattering before walking out

A man got into an "altercation" with a person inside a Nevada Walmart, then whipped out a gun and blasted the individual in the middle of the store — sending customers and employees scattering as cops showed up and also opened fire, killing the shooter.

Officers with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department responded to the Walmart, located in the 5100 block of Boulder Highway in East Las Vegas, around 6 a.m. shortly after it opened Tuesday and encountered an unidentified man walking out of the store with a firearm, officials say.

"LVMPD communications received a call for service, stating that numerous subjects were involved in a physical altercation inside," a police captain told reporters at a press briefing after the early morning incident.

"As an officer arrived, he heard what he believed to be a gunshot coming from inside the business, immediately followed by a suspect exiting the business holding a firearm," the captain said. "That caused the officer to discharge his firearm, striking the suspect. … He was pronounced deceased on scene."

Officers entered the Walmart and located a second male suffering from a gunshot wound after being shot by the man who was killed by police. "That male was also provided immediate medical attention and transported to the hospital where he's currently in critical condition," the LVMPD captain reported. "We believe they had some sort of relationship or knew each other prior. It wasn't random."

While police say "numerous" people were involved in the altercation that sparked everything, they are still investigating the exact number of individuals. The captain told reporters, "We still don't know how many."

The officials added, "We are still working on the relationships between all the suspects or subjects involved."

Shoppers who were at the Walmart spoke to local media outlets about the chaos that unfolded in the store, calling it "scary" and completely unexpected.

"I literally came to get some Tylenol so I can do my morning walk, and I came into a scene looking like Baghdad," shopper Christopher Goodloe told CBS affiliate KLAS. "I can't believe it, man. Thirty-two years and I never experienced this in my life. Vegas has changed quite a bit."

A female shopper told local ABC affiliate KTNV, "Honestly, it was scary because a lot of families live in the area. I'm here all the time, so to hear something like this happened at our local Walmart is crazy. I never thought it would happen over here."

While it hasn't been confirmed, Goodloe said he heard from customers that there was "some kind of domestic dispute" that led to the shooting inside the Walmart "and some girl's boyfriend came from home and to the store and got into a physical altercation" with someone.

Asked about the possibility of a domestic dispute taking place, the LVMPD captain who spoke to reporters said, "We are still working on the relationships between all the suspects or subjects involved."

The post Man whips gun out in Walmart during morning shopping and blasts person in middle of store, sending customers scattering as cops show up and also open fire first appeared on Law & Crime.