WHIO
Police respond to a shooting at a Walmart near Dayton, Ohio, on Monday.
CNN
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Four people were wounded after a shooter opened fire at a Walmart near Dayton, Ohio, before taking his own life Monday night, authorities said.
The suspect, described only as male, entered the store around 8:35 p.m. and shot four people before turning the gun on himself, the Beavercreek Police Department said in a statement.
“No shots were fired by any responding police officers,” the department said in a social media post.
The victims were taken to hospitals for treatment, Capt. Scott Molnar said in a news briefing Monday.
One man and three women were injured. Three are in critical condition and one has non-life-threatening injuries, police said in a statement Tuesday morning.
Police have not identified the suspect and it’s unclear if he knew any of the victims at the store in Beavercreek, a suburb east of Dayton.
It’s at least the second deadly shooting at the same store where, nearly 10 years ago, police shot and killed a Black man who was holding an air rifle he had found on a store shelf and was not in its packaging. The killing sparked outrage and calls for reform.
Monday night’s violence adds to a long list of shootings that have turned commonplace events and settings across the country – retail stores, schools, bowling alleys and birthday parties – into crime scenes.
There have been at least 609 mass shootings in the US this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter.
A gunman nearly a year ago killed six people at another Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Since then, thousands of people have been killed by gun violence in the US, according to the archive. Many simply found themselves in the wrong place, at the wrong time.
“We’re heartbroken by what’s happened at our Beavercreek, Ohio, store,” a Walmart spokesperson said in a statement to CNN Monday night. “This remains a developing situation, and we’re working closely with investigators on the scene.”
The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations, were all investigating the shooting Monday night.
Students at nearby Wright State University shop at the store, they told CNN affiliate WKEF.
“It’s crazy thinking that we’re literally less than five minutes away where we live. They could have went to a campus and not a Walmart, and it could have been us,” Wright State University student Kailie Conley told WKEF.
This story has been updated with additional information.
CNN’s Maria Sole Campinoti, Amanda Jackson, Lauren Mascarenhas and Nicki Brown contributed to this report.
Amanda Smith is a dedicated U.S. correspondent with a passion for uncovering the stories that shape the nation. With a background in political science, she provides in-depth analysis and insightful commentary on domestic affairs, ensuring readers are well-informed about the latest developments across the United States.
