Police: Armed civilian took down shooter at Tumwater Walmart

An armed civilian took down a shooter after two people were shot Sunday night at a Walmart in Tumwater, police said.

Tumwater police said the civilian, described by officers as a Good Samaritan, shot and killed the suspect at the scene just after 5:30 p.m.

“I heard two bangs. It sounded like gunshots to me,” witness Robert Berwick said. “I looked down the aisle and saw a person running.”

That’s when Berwick ran, too. There was chaos in the parking lot, and he said the shooting suspect tried to carjack another man. That’s when the suspect was shot.

“I thanked him for saving my life,” Berwick said of the attempted carjacking victim who shot the suspect. “He didn’t look like he had any regrets. I hope he doesn’t have any.”

Another witness to the shooting, Megan Chadwick, said her husband saw the civilian take down the shooter.

“He said he watched him (the shooter) take his last breath,” Chadwick said. “There were three civilians going after him (the shooter) to shoot him and two of them had their guns up — and then the third guy shot him through the window of the car.”

Chadwick said her husband was armed as well.

She was inside the Walmart during the shooting with her children.

“I looked over and saw hundreds of people running out. … Just a flood of people and everyone was screaming and frantic. … When we got about to the door, I heard someone say, ‘Gun. Shooter.’ And I knew something was serious,” Chadwick said.

Shooting timeline

The Tumwater Police Department says that officers originally responded to a report of a car driving in the wrong direction near Israel Road and Tyee Drive, but as the officers were in route they were dispatched to reports of a carjacking nearby with shots fired.

Officers arrived to the corner of Israel Road and Tyee Drive and found a 16-year-old girl who suffered non-life threatening injuries.

Police then located the 16-year-old’s stolen car in the Walmart parking lot at 5900 Littlerock Rd SW in Tumwater.

Around 5:30 p.m., Thurston County Dispatch began receiving calls of shots fired “in or around the Tumwater Walmart and parking lot,” according to police.

The suspect from the earlier carjacking of the 16-year-old entered the Walmart store and fired shots at a display case, police said. No customers or employees inside the store were injured.

Police say the suspect then exited the store and attempted to carjack another car in the parking lot, shooting a man in that car in the process. The man was treated for gunshot wounds and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he remains in critical condition.

Police say the suspect then attempting another carjacking in the Walmart parking lot, and was approached by two armed civilians. One of the armed civilians shot the suspect, and the suspect died at the scene.