A shooting inside a Walmart store in Lauderdale Lakes, Broward on Tuesday left one person dead and one suspect behind bars, in an incident on which more details were revealed on Wednesday.
The event happened in broad daylight, around 2 p.m. with customers inside the store at 3001 N State Road 7, Lauderdale Lakes, prompting moments of alarm and panic among those s found there.
WHAT HAPPENED AT WALMART?
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), officers responded to the scene after reporting a shooting inside the Walmart. When they arrived at the scene, they found a man with multiple gunshot wounds, who was taken by paramedics to Broward Health Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
BSO’s preliminary investigation revealed that on Tuesday afternoon the suspect, identified by police as Tironie Shavar Sterling, arrived at the Walmart where he works – although he is free on Tuesday – to meet a local employee . Once at the site, an argument began between the two which escalated into physical contact. At one point in the dispute, Sterling dropped a gun on the floor and attempted to take the woman’s cellphone.
At some point in the dispute, according to BSO’s report, a client reached out to help the woman and a dispute began between Sterling and the client that escalated into a physical dispute. During the altercation, Sterling grabbed the gun and shot the man who had repeatedly tried to help the woman. Sterling immediately fled the scene, according to police.
THE SUSPECT
A few hours later, the Broward Police SWAT team, with support from other units, managed to arrest Sterling, who was arrested for first degree murder and armed robbery. He is being held at Broward County Jail.
Tironie Shavar Sterling is 22 years old and is an employee of the Walmart store where the events took place, according to the police.
The victims, both the woman and the deceased man, have not been identified by the authorities.