Shooting At Lauderdale Lakes Walmart Leaves 2 Injured
LAUDERDALE LAKES (CBSMiami) – More than a dozen Broward Sheriff's Office marked units descended on a Lauderdale Lakes Walmart late Wednesday night. BSO confirmed that two people were shot at the Walmart and taken to the hospital.
It appears the shooting happened outside the store. Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue said at least one of those people was in critical condition.
Shoppers, meanwhile, were stuck inside for more than an hour.
"All we heard was all customers go to the front of the building," said an 11-year-old who was stuck with her mom. "They didn't tell us anything. Then they said there was a shooting outside."
She struggled to comprehend the violence.
"Why would they do this here at Walmart?" she said.
People sat in their cars at an exit unable to leave. Meanwhile, a BSO helicopter circled overhead throughout the evening clearly looking for someone. A shopper said it began inside the store with a fight between about 10 men.
"In two of three minutes the security guards came and escorted them out," one shopper told us.
Then people said shots rang out. Valerie Leeks' son was stuck in the store. She had him on the phone and told us what he saw.
"He didn't see the actual shooting but he saw the police walking the guy walking the guy out," she said. "He was hiding in the store."
Broward Sheriff's deputies focused on two cars in the Walmart parking lot, taking pictures of each. CBS 4 cameras also captured video of a man with his hands behind his back, getting patted down and placed in the back of a BSO car.
It was a long night of unexpected violence just before Thanksgiving.
"You got problems, it's best to talk it out, not to fight or shoot," said Carlos Vargas, as he waited to leave the parking lot. "Violence doesn't solve anything."
The Broward Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the shooting.
