An argument between customers inside the Saint Clair Walmart Sunday afternoon led to a shot being fired in the store.
The incident, which happened just before 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, prompted a heavy police presence.
Pennsylvania State Police, and local Schuylkill County departments from Saint Clair, Pottsville, Schuylkill Haven, Frackville, Port Carbon, Reilly Township, and Penn State-Schuylkill Campus were among the officers spotted by The Canary.
Vehicle access into the Coal Creek Commerce Center was blocked soon after the incident occurred.
According to Schuylkill County 9-1-1, only one shot was fired inside the store. There were no injuries reported among those involved in the argument, or anyone inside the store, including shoppers and employees.
The shooter is in police custody. They have not been identified.
A person The Canary spoke to at the scene says she was inside Walmart as the situation was unfolding.
“It sounded like a pallet falling to the ground,” this shopper – who was in the self-checkout line at the time – said of the gunshot fired in the store.
She said after the shot went off, Walmart employees were screaming at shoppers to drop what they had in their hands and to get out of the store.
Another shopper tells The Canary she was near the medicine department before the shot was fired. She said she saw one guy running toward the exit and then heard the shot fired.
“Everyone just started running for the door,” she said.
She added that about 20 police officers showed up and with her kids, she got out of the store. Police entered the store with their rifles drawn, she said.
“There was a good bit of people in the store. It was a crazy experience,” she said. “I never expected something like that to happen.”
Outside Walmart, employees were gathered at the far end of the parking lot, away from the store. One employee tells The Canary that they’re trained once a month on what to do in a situation like the one that unfolded on Sunday.
Some businesses in the shopping center also took precautions during the shooting incident.
The Taco Bell was locked down, according to an employee.
At Cigar Box, employees locked their entrance and shut off the lights temporarily but reopened shortly before 5 p.m.
DEVELOPING STORY: Stay with Coal Region Canary for more information as it becomes available.
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