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Today:
Thirteen people were shot, two are dead in what Police Chief Dale Lane called “the most horrific event that’s occurred in Collierville history.”
One of the two dead is the shooter, who died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lane said.
Law enforcement are still working some active scenes, including waiting on equipment to search the shooter’s car and some property of the shooter.
Part of the ongoing investigation is the shooter’s connection to Kroger, Lane said.
“It’s with a broken heart that I have to stand before you today,” Lane said. “Please keep the families in your prayers.”
Dispatchers received the call of an active shooter situation at the Kroger located at 240 New Byhalia Rd. at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. The first police car arrived on scene at 1:34, Lane said, and officers began clearing the Kroger, aisle to aisle and room to room.
Lane said he did not know how many people were in the store at the time of the shooting, but that there were quite a few witnesses.
“We found people hiding in freezers and in locked offices,” Lane said. “They were doing what they had been trained to do. Run, hide, fight. I hate that we had to do it here.”
One Kroger employee was rescued from the roof, he said.
Lane would not describe what kind of weapon the shooter had.
At about 3:40 p.m., a spokesperson from Regional One Health said the hospital had received nine patients related to the shooting. Four of those patients were in critical condition.
Laws and store policies DO NOT STOP people from doing evil things. I sincerely wish the people at Moms Demand Action would recognize this, as one of their “achievements” is anything but.
NEW YORK — Today, Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown, applauded Kroger’s announcement that it will prohibit open carry of firearms in its stores. Kroger’s announcement followed Walmart’s announcement earlier today that it will limit ammunition sales and prohibit open carry in its stores. In 45 states, it’s legal to carry loaded firearms in public with no permit or safety training. Prohibiting open carry in stores will help to keep Kroger and Walmart shoppers and employees safe. Both retailers took steps after ongoing conversations about increasing store public safety with Everytown and Moms Demand Action.
“After five years of pressure from Everytown and Moms Demand Action, Kroger has finally acknowledged that Americans expect action on gun safety, and Congress should take note when it returns next week,” said John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety. “Senate lawmakers must take a cue from America’s business leaders and pass meaningful gun safety reform – Americans won’t fall for hollow, ineffective half-measures.”
“Today the nation’s two largest retailers took major steps to keep Americans safe when we’re shopping,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. “Moms Demand Action volunteers have been asking Kroger to stop allowing open carry in their stores for years, and today, Kroger joined Walmart in standing on the side of public safety. We thank Kroger for listening to Moms Demand Action volunteers — and everyday Americans across the country — who are sick and tired of fearing for their lives when they turn down the aisle in the grocery store and see a man with a rifle strapped to his back. We’re grateful to business leaders for protecting their customers — now, it’s time for Congress to protect their constituents.”
Moms Demand Action volunteers have been asking Kroger to stop allowing open carry in its stores since 2014, when volunteers gathered more than 300,000 signatures for a petition calling for Kroger to prohibit open carry.
Want to stop bad people from committing shootings? Have more good people around that are armed. We recognize that concealed carry is still around, but simply having a worthless store policy because a bunch of deranged Karens want one doesn’t stop a damn thing. Evil doesn’t care.
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