Virginia Walmart shooting injures three people, including MP

Three people, including a sheriff’s deputy, were injured in a shooting at a Walmart in Virginia on Saturday, authorities said.

The assistant, who has not been identified, and two Walmart security workers were hospitalized with serious but not life threatening injuries, Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman said during a ‘a press conference.

The suspect, also unidentified, was taken into custody in neighboring Fairfax County after a vehicle chase, he said. He was hospitalized because he was beaten in the shooting, sheriff officials said.

It started when Walmart security workers at Dulles Crossing Plaza in Sterling, Va., “Escorted” the suspect to their office after he allegedly stole items from inside the store, they said.

The two employees, described by authorities as loss prevention officers, called on deputies to arrest him for suspected theft of felony, Chapman said.

When the two assistants who responded attempted to take the suspect into custody, he resisted, drew a gun from his belt and opened fire inside the security office, he said. declared.

“He ended up hitting the loss prevention officers once in each of their legs as far as we know,” the sheriff said. “One of our two deputies was shot and beaten several times.”

The other deputy fired back, hitting the man, but that wasn’t enough to stop him from running to the parking lot, where he found a van with the keys inside and drove off, Chapman said.

MPs chased him down and law enforcement officers from other agencies, including Virginia State Police, helped him, sheriff officials said. At one point, authorities lost track of the suspect and a law enforcement helicopter was enlisted to help locate him, Chapman said.

The man was eventually found after “crashing” the truck, and he was taken into custody before being hospitalized, sheriff officials said.