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A shooting at a Walmart store in Mississippi has left two people dead. Tony Gutierrez/AP

 

  • Two Walmart employees were killed and a police officer was injured in a shooting Tuesday at a Walmart store in Southaven, Mississippi, authorities said.
  • The suspect was a suspended Walmart employee, a spokeswoman for the Southaven Police Department told Business Insider. Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite called the shooter a “disgruntled employee.” Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suspect’s relationship with the company.
  • “These people were doing the same thing that you and I do every day,” said Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore. “They showed up for work so they could provide for their families and they became victims of a senseless violent act.”

Two Walmart employees were killed and a police officer was wounded in a shooting Tuesday at a Walmart store in Southaven, Mississippi, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect was a suspended Walmart employee, a Southaven Police Department spokeswoman told Business Insider. Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite called the shooter a “disgruntled employee” with a “personal grievance” against his employer.

Walmart did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the suspect’s relationship with the company.

The suspect was shot twice by a police officer and is currently in surgery at a local hospital, Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore said during a press conference on Tuesday. The officer opened fire after the suspect shot another police officer and struck him in his bulletproof vest, Moore said.

Moore called the incident a “senseless” murder.

“These people were doing the same thing that you and I do every day,” he said. “They showed up for work so they could provide for their families and they became the victims of a senseless violent act.”

Police started receiving 911 calls at 6:33 a.m. Tuesday reporting an active shooter and a fire set inside the Walmart store on 6800 block of Southcrest Parkway.

Officers arrived on the scene three minutes later and found the suspect in the parking lot. Officers also located a suspicious package inside the building, Moore said. There were about 60 Walmart employees inside the building at the time, he said.

Walmart told Business Insider that it is assisting law enforcement with the case.

“The entire Walmart family is heartbroken by the loss of two valued members of our team,” Walmart US CEO Greg Foran said in a statement. “We feel tragedies like this personally, and our hearts go out to the families of our two associates and the officer who was injured. We are relieved the suspect was apprehended, and we appreciate the quick response of the local authorities and our associates.”

As reported by Business Insider