Walmart Speaks Out After Two Mass Shootings Occur at Stores Within 24 Hours

Walmart stores have been hit by a second multiple shooting in just over 24 hours. A gunman walked into a Walmart in Ohio and opened fire on shoppers on Monday just a day after a shooting at another of the chain's stores in Alaska.

Gunfire tore through the Walmart located in the 300 block of Pentagon Boulevard in Beavercreek, Ohio, on Monday evening. Four people were hurt and the shooter is thought died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, police said. A Walmart spokesperson said the retailer was "heartbroken."

The incident came just a day after a man and woman were shot dead in the busy parking lot of a Walmart in Anchorage, Alaska, shortly after 5:10 p.m. on Sunday evening. Following an investigation, police released a statement on Tuesday saying the incident had been a domestic violence-related attack by the male which culminated in a murder-suicide.

Walmart has 4,717 stores across the U.S., according to figures compiled by Statista. That means statistically the chain will occasionally find itself to be the site of a shooting as the U.S. battles to deal with spiraling gun crime.

In a sign of how desperate things have become, multiple countries have even issued travel warnings to their citizens about the dangers of visiting America. The Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings across the country, has calculated that 38,269 people have died after being shot so far this year, although that figure also includes suicides and accidental deaths.

A series of official updates posted on X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, alerted residents to the Ohio shooting on Monday. Beavercreek Police Department posted that officers were "on the scene of a shooting at the Walmart in Beavercreek this evening."

A follow-up post two hours later read: "UPDATE: There is no active threat. A male walked into the Walmart in Beavercreek around 8:35 p.m. Monday and began firing a gun, injuring four people. The victims were transported to area hospitals and their conditions are unknown at this time.

"Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms; Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation; FBI; as well as other local agencies are on scene assisting with the investigation. Again, there is no active threat.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and families impacted by this horrific tragedy. We will release more information as it becomes available.

"A fifth person, the shooter, died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. No shots were fired by any responding police officers."

A spokesperson for Beavercreek Police Department released a statement on Tuesday saying that the shooter had been identified as 20-year-old Benjamin Charles Jones, of Dayton, Ohio. "The gunman shot and injured four adult victims, three females and one male. As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, three victims were listed in stable condition. One victim remained in critical, yet stable condition," the statement added.

TV news footage showed a huge police presence at the store with numerous police vehicles and a crime scene unit at the scene. Flashing blue lights illuminated the parking lot and police tape sealed off the area.

Wright State University student Anna Crowley spoke to local news channel Dayton 24/7 and revealed she felt that she'd had a lucky escape. Although she wasn't in the store when the shooting broke out, she said: "It's crazy. I was here [earlier today] before I had work, so probably around 2:00 p.m. It's super crazy."

Newsweek reached out to Walmart by email seeking further information. A spokesperson replied with a statement on Tuesday, reading: "We're heartbroken by what's happened at our Beavercreek, Ohio, store. This remains a developing situation, and we're working closely with investigators on the scene. All questions should be directed to local law enforcement."

Newsweek also requested a comment about the shooting that occurred on Sunday evening outside the retailer's store in Anchorage.

In that incident, on the Old Seward Highway at 88th Avenue just south of the Dimond Center mall, the store was locked down after shots were fired outside. Investigators found a gun at the scene, and early reports suggested that a search had been launched for the shooter.

But an Anchorage Police Department (APD) spokesperson released a statement on Tuesday, saying: "Initial indications are that 29-year-old Saina Fa'atoafe fatally shot an adult female in the Walmart parking lot and then took his own life. No one else was involved. This is a domestic violence-related crime; therefore, the female victim's name will not be released by APD. Next-of-kin notification procedures have been completed for both deceased."

In two of the worst shootings of recent years at Walmarts, a Walmart employee killed six people before turning the gun on himself at a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, in November 2022, while white nationalist Patrick Crusius killed 23 people in an August 2019 shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, that targeted Hispanic people.

Update 11/21/23, 11:01 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include Walmart's response to Newsweek's request for comment.

Update 11/22/23, 10:44 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from Anchorage Police about the murder-suicide, and an update from Beavercreek Police about the Ohio shooting.

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