Orange County Deputies Open Fire Inside Foothill Ranch Walmart, Suspect Wounded
LAKE FOREST (CBSLA) – A suspect was wounded when Orange County Sheriff's deputies opened fire inside a Walmart in Foothill Ranch Wednesday night.
The shooting occurred at about 9:40 p.m. at a Walmart Supercenter in the 26500 block of Towne Centre Drive.
According to the sheriff's department, deputies were called to the store over "suspicious circumstances" involving a case of suspected fraud in which several suspects were allegedly attempting to return items they had not bought.
Deputies arrived on scene and confronted the suspects, one of whom became "uncooperative" and then produced a weapon, prompting officers to open fire, the sheriff's department said.
The suspect was struck and wounded. He was rushed to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery. His condition is unknown.
A knife and a gun that the suspect was allegedly carrying were recovered at the scene, the sheriff's department said. The department released photos of the weapons.
Video obtained by CBSLA showed the wounded suspect lying on the floor near the front of the store. The footage appears to show a deputy leaning over the suspect, searching him, and appears to take something out of his pocket.
The store was open and filled with customers at the time, one of whom described the chaotic scene to CBSLA.
"I was right there in the baby section...I just see everyone looking over because there's like an argument, and someone screamed, 'no,' and the next thing you know you hear a gunshot, and everyone just ducks and runs," witness Leslie Dash said.
Meanwhile, two other suspects who were with him, a male and a female, ran out of the store and then sped away in a vehicle, the sheriff's department reports. Deputies were able to get the vehicle's license plate and dispatch it out.
The vehicle was later located by deputies in the community of Midway City, about 20 miles from the Walmart, OCSD reports. It contained a male and female who matched the description of the male and female who fled the Walmart. They were detained.
No names have been released. The exact circumstances which prompted deputies to open fire were unclear. No deputies were hurt.