Posted on 08/27/2005 2:52:28 PM PDT by DJ Taylor
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - One man is dead and a woman is in the hospital following an apparent domestic dispute inside a Wal-Mart on the city's southeast side, police said.
Witnesses told police that a man had been stabbing the female employee inside the store just after 5 p.m. Thursday when an armed customer intervened and shot the attacker. The stabbing appeared to stem from a domestic dispute, according to police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman.
A co-worker said the Wal-Mart employee was attacked by her ex-husband.
"She was telling me she was scared of him. But we never thought he'd come here and do this to her," Billie Jo Chavez told Albuquerque television station KRQE.
The female victim, whose name was not immediately released, was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital where she was being treated for multiple stab wounds. She was in stable condition and Hoffman said investigators hoped to talk to her soon.
The man who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately released, nor was the name of the man accused of shooting him.
"It looks like it's a possibility that the guy who shot the other man will be justified," Hoffman said. "From what witnesses are telling us, it corroborates his story that the male was stabbing the female and he intervened."
Witnesses said the gunshots sent some people running as others hit the floor and crawled to safety.
The incident marked the second time in less than a week that one of Wal-Mart's Western stores has been the scene of deadly violence.
Customers at a Wal-Mart in a Phoenix suburb ran for their lives Tuesday when a man opened fire and killed two store employees in the parking lot.
In that case, police have accused 53-year-old Ed Liu of shooting 18-year-old Anthony Spangler and 36-year-old Patrick Graham. Both employees were collecting shopping carts at the time.
Concealed Permit holder. All the local media has been in his favor too.
Certainly not in the stories I've read.
The locals seem to end the story with a reference to the Phoenix WalMart shooting in which a "gunman" shot and killed 2 employees.
The two stories have NOTHING to do with each other.
You are so right...............one was two counts of murder - this one is justifiable use of a firearm.
They've showed relatives of the stabbing victim and Walmart employees praising his actions.
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