(EVANSVILLE, Ind.) — At least one person was shot and wounded at a Walmart in southern Indiana on Thursday night when a former employee opened fire inside the store, police said.
The gunman was ultimately killed in a minuteslong shootout with police.
The incident unfolded just before 10 p.m. local time at the Walmart in the West Side neighborhood of Evansville, a riverside city about 180 miles southwest of Indianapolis. The suspect — identified as 25-year-old Ronald Ray Mosley II — allegedly walked into the store and began shooting, according to the Evansville Police Department.
Officers were quickly deployed to the scene and immediately entered the Walmart looking for the gunman, as people tried to hide or flee. It was unknown how many people were inside the store at the time and how many of them were shot at, police said.
Seven Evansville Police officers and one Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s deputy exchanged gunfire with the suspect both inside and outside the store, in multiple different areas, though the exact number of rounds was unclear, according to police.
“Multiple times he was actually shooting at officers before they were actually able to shoot him,” Sgt. Anna Gray of the Evansville Police Department said at a press conference late Thursday. “At this time, we don’t believe there are any other suspects involved in this.”
The suspect was pronounced dead inside the store. The entire incident lasted about 15 minutes and no officers were injured, according to police.
A woman with a gunshot wound was transported from the scene to a local hospital. Her condition was unknown, police said.
“A lot of people were running out, so there could be more [victims] out there,” Gray told reporters. “If someone was directly involved or injured during the incident, please either come back to the scene or call 911 and give us that information. We are looking for any other victims at this time.”
The suspect had a criminal history and used to work at Walmart. He and the wounded victim may have been coworkers at one time, according to police.
“This is a tragic incident. We can’t imagine what the witnesses and employees and customers inside went through,” Officer Taylor Merriss of the Evansville Police Department said at a press conference early Friday. “But without the bravery and professionalism of our department, there could’ve been a lot more lives lost last night.”
The shooting remains under investigation. In addition to collecting evidence from the scene and interviewing witnesses, investigators are reviewing footage from the responding officers’ body-worn cameras as well as from the Walmart’s security cameras, according to police.
Walmart told ABC News in a statement late Thursday that it “is shocked by the senseless violence that occurred at our Evansville store.”
“As we learn more, we’ll do everything we can to support our associates as they cope with this tragedy,” the company added. “We’re thankful for the local first responders and will continue working with law enforcement through the course of their investigation.”
ABC News’ Peter Charalambous, Ahmad Hemingway and Cherise Rudy contributed to this report.
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