UPDATE @ 10:55 p.m.:
A law enforcement source tells the Dayton Daily News and News Center 7 that the gun used in the Walmart shooting was a realistic-looking toy gun -- some sort of a BB or pellet gun -- that John Crawford got and opened while in the store.
Also late Wednesday, a husband and wife from Riverside, who called 911 in Tuesday night's deadly police officer-involved shooting at the store in Beavercreek, relate a chilling account of Crawford's demeanor as he walked the aisles carrying what they believe was a rifle.
April and Ronald Ritchie, in an interview Wednesday night with News Center 7's Jessica Heffner and Dayton Daily News Staff Writer Kelli Wynn, said they were in the hardware department when they saw a man leaving an aisle and walk past them with the rifle pointed toward the sky.
"He got on his cell phone right after he walked past me," April Ritchie said. Ritchie was on her cell phone, talking with her mother. She had broken an ankle and was riding a scooter.
"Guy. Gun. Hold on," April Ritchie recalled telling her mother.
They followed the man at a safe distance and Ronald Ritchie, a former Marine, called 911 at 8:21 p.m.
"Anytime I saw people walking his way, I would get their attention," April Ritchie said, waving her hands for the reporters to demonstrate what she did. She said at one point, a family was standing next to the man with the rifle, but didn't notice the rifle. The man turned to look at them with a stare she described as if he was telling them, "don't come near me."
He was holding a cellphone between his left ear and left shoulder while messing with the rifle, she said. "He just kept messing with it and I heard a clicking," she said.
Ronald Ritche said the man "was just waving it at children and people. Items.... I couldn't hear anything that he was saying. I'm thinking that he is either going to rob the place or he's there to shoot somebody else." The man looked kind of serious, Ronald Ritchie said. "He didn't really want to be looked at and when people did look at him, he was pointing the gun at them. He was pointing at people. Children walking by."
Ronald Ritchie said the man wasn't pointing the weapon at people as if he was going to shoot, but rather waving it in their direction as a threat.
The couple didn't know Beavercreek police had arrived until they saw four or five officers appear in the Pets section, where the man with the rifle was standing.
"I heard, 'put it down, put it down,' " April Ritchie said. "I heard two shots after I saw him turn. He still had the weapon in his hand."
The Ritchies said the man fell backward when he was hit by the gunfire, but got back up and went toward the officer who shot him. That officer then tackled the man. Officers then handcuffed him and turned him on his back, Ronald Ritchie said.
"We got him. Get everyone out of the store," said April Ritchie, repeating what she heard an officer say.
Ronald Ritchie said the man "looked like he was going to go violently. If he would have dropped the weapon, he could have came out with his life. But, unfortunately, he didn't."
Why didn't Ritchie and his wife leave the store when they saw the gunman? Ronald Ritchie said, "It just seemed like the thing to do to get the information to the 911 dispatcher and the police that were involved."
UPDATE @ 4:38 p.m.:
The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, requested as an outside agency to investigate the shooting, will not release information as to whether the weapon Crawford had was real or a toy, and will not release information regarding which oficer fired the shots that killed Crawford, said Jill Del Greco, BCI spokeswoman said.
"BCI is going to look at the entire situation and look at what happened and what led up to the incident and how the officers responded," she said. "We will not make a determination of if the shooting was justified or not."
BCI agents will report to the county prosecutor's office, who will then decide what happens next. The prosecutor likely will present the findings to a grand jury to determine if the officers acted criminally, she said. There is no time frame for the investigation, which likely will take several months, Del Greco said. If the prosecutor takes the case to a grand jury and a no bill is returned, the BCI investigation and report will be a public record. If there is an indictment, then it will still be open and not subject to release, she said.
She confirmed that both officers involved are on paid administrative leave. If and when they will return from that leave would be determined by Beavercreek police.
UPDATE @4:10 p.m.:
Beavercreek police Chief Dennis Evers said in a news conference that officers acted appropriately Tuesday night when they shot a man inside a Beavercreek Walmart.
The incident happened near the pet supplies section in the store. Evers said the case has been turned over the Ohio Attorney General's Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Agents have already started their investigation.
Police refused to answer any questions, including the possibility that John Crawford, who was shot and killed by police inside the store, may have been carrying a fake gun. Crawford's girlfriend, Tasha Thomas, told media that she was with Crawford and he did not have a gun, but may have picked up a toy gun from the toy aisle.
Police said a 911 call was received saying a subject was waiving a "rifle-type weapon" at customers, including children. Evers said Crawford was shot after he failed to comply with police commands.
UPDATE @4 p.m.:
The girlfriend of John Crawford, who was identified as the man Beavercreek police reportedly shot and killed Tuesday night, said Crawford didn't have a gun when he entered Walmart. Tasha Thomas said she was with Crawford, and he may have picked up a toy gun since they were near the toy aisle.
UPDATE @3:08 p.m.:
Walmart officials are still sorting out details of Tuesday night’s shooting at their Beavercreek store, a company spokesman said Wednesday afternoon.
“We are deeply saddened about the loss of life last night and our thoughts and prayers are with the family and loved ones of everyone involved,” spokesman Brian Nick said. “We are still learning information about the events surrounding this tragedy, and assisting police in their ongoing investigation.”
UPDATE @1 p.m.
John Crawford, 22, of Ridge Drive in Fairfield has been identified as the man Beavercreek police reportedly shot and killed in the local Walmart Tuesday night.
An officer allegedly shot Crawford after he was reportedly waving a gun around at customers, including children, inside the store. Police said officers confronted the man and shot him when Crawford failed to comply with verbal orders.
UPDATE @11:55 a.m.:
Walmart follows state and local gun laws, so its stores’ rules are not more restrictive than the laws, company spokesman Brian Nick said.
"We're continuing to gather information because this is really a police matter," he said.
The Beavercreek Walmart does sell firearms.
UPDATE @ 11:15 a.m.:
We have more than a dozen staffers looking into the officer-involved shooting at Walmart Tuesday night. Beavercreek police confirmed that officers shot a 22-year-old man inside the store after he was reportedly waiving a gun around at customers, including children. Police said officers confronted the man inside the store and shot him when he failed to comply with verbal orders. His identity has not been released.
A woman, Angela D. Williams, 37, of Fairborn, was running from the situation and collapsed. She was taken to Soin Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Williams' coworkers at the Villas of Springfield Nursing Home in the city of Springfield said she was to be married Saturday.
Walmart was closed overnight and reopened shortly before 11 a.m. We have crews working to find out the identities of the officer and the 22-year-old gunman involved. We are working to find out the mode of transportation the gunman used to arrive to Walmart, how Walmart responded to the situation and how police responded to the situation.
UPDATE @ 11:05 a.m.:
The woman who suffered a medical condition and died inside Walmart Tuesday night has been identified as Angela Williams, 37, of Fairborn.
According to her coworkers, she had just gotten off work and was to be married Saturday.
“She was apparently running from a dangerous situation inside the Walmart store when she collapsed. She was taken to Soin Medical Center where she died at 9:14 p.m. An autopsy is expected to be performed today," according to a release.
UPDATE @ 10:55 a.m.
Walmart is now open after a fatal officer-involved shooting Tuesday night.
The store was closed for several hours after officers shot a 22-year-old inside the store after he reportedly waived a rifle-type weapon around at customers inside the store, including children.
UPDATE @ 4:45 a.m.: Beavercreek police confirmed that officers shot a 22-year-old man inside Walmart.
The man was reportedly waving a rifle-type weapon at customers inside the store, including children, according to a news release.
Police said officers confronted the man inside the store, and shot him after he failed to comply with verbal orders.
He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he died, police said.
Earlier: A shooting inside the Beavercreek Walmart on Tuesday night left one man dead and sent shoppers and employees running for the exits, and some reports indicated that a police officer was involved.
Officers did not release details about the shooting by early Wednesday, but the Montgomery County Coroner's Office confirmed they have a shooting victim from the Tuesday night shooting.
A spokesman with the coroner's office said the victim was transported to Miami Valley Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. His identity is not being released at this time.
A woman also suffered a medical episode while officers were on the scene and was pronounced dead, the coroner's office said. The woman was not shot, according to the spokesman.
Witness accounts painted a scene fraught with chaos and scared families.
Jerry Hensley, 40, of Fairborn, said he drove into the Walmart parking lot about 8:30 p.m. when he encountered a large group of customers and employees hurriedly streaming out of the entrance.
Hensley was told he would not be allowed inside because of an active shooter situation.
Customers and employees were visibly traumatized, Hensley said, and family members tried hard to comfort and answer the many questions of their stunned children.
“It was very chaotic,” he said. “Some people were really shaken up, and some people were really close to the shooting.”
Hensley said police entered the store, moving in a tactical formation. He said everyone inside was evacuated.
Hensley said there were dozens of people, many with young children, inside during the shooting.
Hensley said he visited Walmart in search off a picture frame. He and his wife stopped at Kmart for 10 minutes, otherwise they would have been inside at the time of gunfire.
“Our thoughts go out to the people who were involved, especially those that had kids,” he said. “Hopefully they can recover from that.”
The area outside the store following the shooting was filled with the flashing lights of a variety of police cars, medic units and other emergency responders. Police cordoned off a large section of the parking lot. Customers and employees were asked to separate into groups, based on whether they witnessed anything inside, according to witnesses.
James Chessman had just finished paying for his groceries at a checkout counter when he heard someone yelling.
Chessman, a Fairborn resident, said this was not unusual because people often get into arguments in the store.
But then he heard two loud gunshots.
He said the shots sounded as “clear as day,” and possibly came from the direction of the in-store pharmacy. Chessman said he fled the store quickly.
“We rolled out,” he said. “If I hear gunshots, I am taking cover.”
Some people who witnessed the unfolding events said they could tell a crisis was forthcoming.
Raquel Scott, a Walmart employee, said she was coming off break when she saw a police officer entering the store with his gun at the ready.
“I saw his gun, so I knew something was about to happen,” she said.
What happened was she heard two loud shots.
Some witnesses said the police response and the store’s evacuation were organized. But others said they felt authorities did not immediately take control of the situation.
Kim Durbin, 49, of Beavercreek, picked up her daughter from work at Sam’s Club at about 8:20 p.m.
Sam’s Club is located near Walmart.
Durbin said she saw a family running away from Walmart, but she could not tell what was happening.
She said she saw no attempt to stop people from leaving nearby stores as the emergency played out. She said she wished authorities quickly ordered businesses in the area to lock down to keep customers and employees safe.
“I thought, ‘What the heck, why isn’t anybody securing this area,’” she said. “Why didn’t they shut down Sam’s and keep everybody in there?”
Melissa Dulinsky, who was inside during the shooting, said she saw people running and did not know whether to run or stay put.
But she praised Walmart staff for evacuating customers responsibly and quickly.
“The Walmart staff was very good at saying, ‘Get out, get out,’” she said. “They didn’t flee, they waited for us to get out, and I think they did a very good job.”
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