Gunshot interrupts shoppers
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
By Bob Freund and Dawn Schuett
The Post-Bulletin
A shotgun blast at the gun counter shattered glass and panicked some customers in Wal-Mart North early Tuesday afternoon. But hardened glass in a display case stopped many pellets, and no one was injured, Rochester police said.
An apparently despondent 28-year-old man was tackled by a store manager and others on 55th Street Northwest minutes after the shot was fired. He is being treated at Saint Marys Hospital, and charges are being considered, police said this morning.
Capt. Brian Winters said today the man was trying to hurt himself.
Calls about a man running with a rifle brought at least eight city officers plus several State Patrol troopers to the store about 12:25 p.m. Tuesday.
The man had examined two guns at the counter when the shot was fired, said Rochester Police Sgt. Eli Umpierre.
A Wal-Mart clerk had locked up the first gun and allowed the man to handle an unloaded 12-gauge model. The man loaded at least one shell into the gun.
The clerk went to help another customer, and "the next thing he knows, the clerk hears a smash or a bang," Umpierre said. The suspect was standing with a hammer.
"He was trying to get the trigger lock off, it appears," she said. The shotgun apparently went off while he was striking the lock with the hammer.
Shoppers scrambled away from the area, and the man fled through the store's front door.
Store officials and some shoppers, including the other customer at the gun counter, chased him. The pursuit ended on 55th Street, where the man was jumping in front of traffic.
Trooper Bill Sires was filling up with gas at a Kwik Trip station when the police radio crackled with a "man with a gun" call.
Sires saw several people holding down a man on 55th Street. Sires handcuffed the suspect and turned him over to Rochester police.
One of the people in pursuit had a rifle legally in his vehicle, according to Winters.
The man who fled had said he wanted the man with the rifle to shoot him, Winters said. The rifle was not fired.
Copyright 2003 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, December 24, 2003
By Bob Freund and Dawn Schuett
The Post-Bulletin
A shotgun blast at the gun counter shattered glass and panicked some customers in Wal-Mart North early Tuesday afternoon. But hardened glass in a display case stopped many pellets, and no one was injured, Rochester police said.
An apparently despondent 28-year-old man was tackled by a store manager and others on 55th Street Northwest minutes after the shot was fired. He is being treated at Saint Marys Hospital, and charges are being considered, police said this morning.
Capt. Brian Winters said today the man was trying to hurt himself.
Calls about a man running with a rifle brought at least eight city officers plus several State Patrol troopers to the store about 12:25 p.m. Tuesday.
The man had examined two guns at the counter when the shot was fired, said Rochester Police Sgt. Eli Umpierre.
A Wal-Mart clerk had locked up the first gun and allowed the man to handle an unloaded 12-gauge model. The man loaded at least one shell into the gun.
The clerk went to help another customer, and "the next thing he knows, the clerk hears a smash or a bang," Umpierre said. The suspect was standing with a hammer.
"He was trying to get the trigger lock off, it appears," she said. The shotgun apparently went off while he was striking the lock with the hammer.
Shoppers scrambled away from the area, and the man fled through the store's front door.
Store officials and some shoppers, including the other customer at the gun counter, chased him. The pursuit ended on 55th Street, where the man was jumping in front of traffic.
Trooper Bill Sires was filling up with gas at a Kwik Trip station when the police radio crackled with a "man with a gun" call.
Sires saw several people holding down a man on 55th Street. Sires handcuffed the suspect and turned him over to Rochester police.
One of the people in pursuit had a rifle legally in his vehicle, according to Winters.
The man who fled had said he wanted the man with the rifle to shoot him, Winters said. The rifle was not fired.
Copyright 2003 Post-Bulletin Company, LLC
All Rights Reserved
