Rescue workers take a man from the Schnucks supermarket to a waiting ambulance. Seven co-workers were attacked; the suspect is in custody.
Posted on 07/22/2006 6:31:44 AM PDT by Sybeck1
Justin Murchison had a matter-of-fact answer Friday when asked what would have happened had a Good Samaritan with a gun not put a stop to a stabbing rampage at a Cordova Schnucks:
"I'd be dead."
A knife-wielding employee of the grocery store at 9025 U.S. 64 stabbed seven co-workers Friday morning before the armed civilian apprehended him in the parking lot. Another person was accosted with a knife, and yet another was stricken with heat-related symptoms.
Late Friday, all the victims were alive.
The attacker, identified as 21-year-old Elartrice 'Marcell' Ingram, is in police custody. He is charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder -- seven stabbings, the threatening and the heat-related hospitalization.
Two victims -- Vincent Patterson, 36, and Murchison, 27 -- were treated and released from Saint Francis-Bartlett hospital. Barbara Marshall, 41, was admitted there in fair condition.
Anitra Flowers, 31, was in serious condition at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Victims Victoria Herbert and Theresa Howard were also at The Med, but their conditions were unknown. The conditions and identities of the other victims were unknown as well.
"I'm very lucky to be alive. If it wasn't for that guy with the gun, I think I'd be dead," said Murchison, who needed 25 staples to stitch up his head. "I'm just in a recovery stage. Tomorrow, it might really hit home."
The incident began about 9:25 a.m., when family members dropped Ingram off at the store, Memphis police spokesman Vince Higgins said.
As they walked in, Murchison said he spoke to Ingram and everything seemed fine. But for some reason, Ingram snapped, witnesses said. He grabbed two knives from the seafood area, made his way to an office in the back, and stabbed two women, they said.
"I heard screaming. I ran outside," employee Patrick Bridges, 18, said later by cell phone from inside the store, where employees were being questioned by police.
Ingram then made his way to the front, attacking four other people along the way, police said. Once outside, he targeted Murchison, who had escaped the store along with several customers and other employees.
"He came out into the parking lot, running at me with the knife. He chased me," said Murchison, still unsure why Ingram chose him. "When I decided I just couldn't run any more, I turned and we just started fighting."
At this point, people in nearby businesses noticed the clamor.
"We saw all these people chasing this one kid down. They're chasing him all over this parking lot," said Carolyn Griffin, an employee of Beneficial financial services just a few doors down from Schnucks.
"I recognized the guy," Beneficial employee Gerald Banyon said. "I used to see him in the meat department."
That's when Beneficial branch manager Chris Cope, a former process server who is licensed to carry a handgun, ran to his truck to get his Glock 9mm.
"He was stabbing the guy. I grabbed my pistol and ran over to him. I told him to drop the knife. He turned around and threw the knife and put his hands up," Cope said. "I was thinking, 'I'm going to shoot this guy if he keeps stabbing him.' "
It's unknown what sparked the attack.
"We're trying to find out what the exact motive was for him to go off like that," Sgt. Higgins said. "Why attack someone you work with?"
Company president and CEO Scott Schnuck flew from St. Louis, where the grocery chain is based, as soon as he learned of the stabbing and visited the victims and their families.
"I was shocked and deeply saddened by the events of the day," he said at a press conference Friday night. He said the company is setting up counseling and other services for "people affected by today's events."
Lori Willis, a Schnucks spokesman, earlier in the day disputed reports that Ingram had recently been fired: "The suspect in this incident was not terminated, nor was he involved in any disciplinary action."
The scene outside the store was chaotic late Friday morning, as employees and family members poured into the parking lot, marked off with yellow crime-scene tape.
They asked anyone if they knew anything, but most knew only snatches of rumors. Some called employees on their cell phones inside the store to see if they could get any information. Others gathered near the entrance, talking to employees who came out to talk.
Pam Richardson walked up to an employee who'd come out to talk to friends.
"I'm Justin's mother," she said. "Is he here?"
"Justin's at The Med," said the woman, wearing a Schnucks nametag that said 'Robin.'
"The Med?" Richardson said, not knowing that her son was actually at a different hospital.
Ashley Webster, a nurse dressed in purple scrubs, rushed to the store after getting a frantic call from her boyfriend, bread vendor Laire Gowdy.
"He said that somebody started going through the store, stabbing people. A lady got stabbed twice in the chest right in front of him," Webster said. "He left a message on my phone. He was scared. He said, 'Please come.'"
Reporters Dakarai Aarons, Yann Ranaivo and Pamela Perkins contributed to this story.
Copyright 2006, commercialappeal.com - Memphis, TN. All Rights Reserved
Rescue workers take a man from the Schnucks supermarket to a waiting ambulance. Seven co-workers were attacked; the suspect is in custody.
Gun trumps knife.
Disproportionate response. The passerby should have used a knife ... to make it fair.
And the cops can't recommend armed self-defense because of liability if someone gets hurt or killed... :-(
That should be the headline of the story.
What you won't read or hear in the media is that if Schnucks Supermarkets had their way there would have been no armed citizen to save their employees.
Schnucks Supermarkets want gun control .
No mention of the gun. More lying from the MMM.
He says this as if there could really be a logical reason for a person to do something like this. Believe me, no motive will be found other than the standard liberal diatribe.
That is kind of person I want to rescue me !
"Cope said. "I was thinking, 'I'm going to shoot this guy if he keeps stabbing him.' "
That is kind of person I want to rescue me !"
As glad as I am that he did 'rescue' the victim, what's with 'if he keeps stabbing', don't hesitate blow the perp away. Saves us all a lot of money.
Good. Good for him that he not only had a gun, but was ready to use it for the purpose it was intended. I would hope if I was ever in the same situation, I would do the same.
That said, I'm glad he didn't have to shoot him. For his sake, not the perp's.
I also can't believe no one else had a gun.
Think about it. If this had happened on the "bad" side of town where everyone carries, illegally I might add, this perp would have been shot multiple times before he could leave the store.
However, on the "best" side of town where everyone obeys the law and very few are armed, criminals think they can get away with things like this, and they frequently do.
Gee, if the perp really wanted the day off, he just should have called in sick, or something. Shows you just how sick Memphis really is, and if you live there (or anywhere else) you best be "packin'" or you be dead!
They will have a hard time supporting such an idea after this incident. They should thank their lucky stars no one died. Was the gun handler an employee of the store? If so, I wonder if he will be fired for bringing a gun to work even though it was in his truck.
The land that many Schuncks Supermarkets are located on is owned by Schuncks Investments,,,Schunchks Holding or some similar name.
Schnucks also owns strip malls.
Perhaps Schmucks Real estate Holding has a policy of no guns in their parking lots, not even in their employees vehicle's. They are anti-gun.
AOL, Weyerhauser, Conoco-Phillips, Bana Foods and others have this type of policy.
There have been several threads about this type of policy on FR over the past 2 or 3 years.
Why no guns,,,Stupid work place rules or laws supported by ignorant or stupid liberal executives?
AOL, Weyerhauser, Conoco-Phillips, Bana Foods and others very well could fire him and make it stick though the appeals counts,,,,AOL in Utah a couple of years ago.
Thank heavens the Hero did not worry about Schnucks Supermarkets and just did what he thought was right !
Reason #1 why I carry concealed, a 1911 Kimber 'Eclipse Target II' .45cal ACP.
The guy who had the gun didn't work for the grocery store.... he worked at another biz in the same shopping center.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.