A suspected shoplifter opened fire at a South Florida WalMart Friday evening, killing a loss prevention officer before apparently turning the gun on himself a short time later.
Margate Police say Terrell Kennith Johnson, 22, whom 49-year-old Lewis Jhon had caught stealing undershirts, fatally shot Jhon just inside the grocery entrance at the WalMart supercenter on West Altantic Boulevard before fleeing the scene on foot.
A massive manhunt ensued before officers responding to second reports of gunfire found Johnson dead several blocks away, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound the head.
MPD Spokesman Lt. Andy Zettek said a woman was also taken into custody after a search, but details remain scarce. Surveillance video shows Jhon in a striped shirt, talking to Johnson just moments before the younger man pulled a gun.
"The police department worked with him for a number of years, and it’s a very sad day tonight," Zettek said. "Employees here are very saddened. They are grieving the lost of this gentlemen."
The shooting, which occurred about 7:15 p.m., sent witnesses to Twitter to describe panic in the store and a neighborhood swarming with police:
The store remained closed Friday evening, roped off by yellow crime scene tape.
The incident marks the second time this month stealing goods from a South Florida WalMart has turned fatal: police shot and killed a suspected thief during a confrontation September 6 after the man reportedly robbed a WalMart store in Hallandale Beach.
It also comes just a month after four people were shot in the parking lot of a WalMart in Texas, and less than 6 months after a WalMart employee in Phoenix was murdered during a robbery attempt.
This story was updated to include the suspect's name.