Who is the Collierville, Kroger shooting suspect?
ONE person is dead and at least a dozen others are wounded after a mass shooting at Kroger grocery store in Tennessee.
The attack took place in Collierville, a suburb east of Memphis, officials said.
What do we know about the Kroger shooting suspect?
The suspect, who has not been identified, is dead from what authorities say is a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said investigators are planning to execute search warrants at undisclosed locations as part of their investigation.
“The suspected shooter’s vehicle is in the parking lot, and we are waiting on some additional equipment to get here to be able to safely check that vehicle, as well as some property that was on him,” Lane said.
He said that at least 12 people were taken to hospital, while another walked into hospital for treatment.
So far, authorities haven’t shared information about the gunman, however a spokeswoman for the city of 50,000 residents told the New York Times that he worked as a “third party vendor of Kroger.”
What happened in the Kroger grocery store on September 23?
Officers with the Collierville Police Department responded to an active shooter at a Kroger grocery store at around 1:30pm on Thursday, September 23, 2021.
Some 13 people were shot and one has died.
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“This is the most horrific event to happen in Collierville history,” Lane said in a press conference.
While names have not been released, first responders sent the victims to nearby hospitals but the seriousness of their injuries remains unknown.
“First officers on the scene encountered multiple shoppers and employees, some shot by the suspect”, according to a release by the Collierville Police Department.
One Kroger employee was saved after taking refuge on the supermarket’s rooftop.
The release also confirmed that the shooter was found in the “rear of the store” with what appeared to be “a self-inflicted gunshot wound”.
Workers and shoppers attempted to dodge the spray of bullets any way they could.
“We found people hiding in freezers and in locked offices,” Lane said.
“They were doing what they had been trained to do: Run, hide, fight.
“I hate that we had to do it here.”
One woman who called Kroger her workplace for 33 years, said she was working the cash register when the gunshots were fired.
”We thought it was balloons popping,” Brignetta Dickerson told WREG.
“When it kept on going and we was like ‘no it’s gunshots’.”
She and other employees fled to the rear.
“And, here he comes right behind us and started shooting.
“And, he kept on shooting, shooting, shooting.
“He shot one of my co-workers in the head and shot one of my customers in the stomach.”
Lane also confirmed that they ruled out the possibility of a second shooter.
Police are still working multiple scenes at the store, as the shooter’s car, with personal belongings in it, is believed to be parked in the parking lot.
A bomb squad was called in to the New Byhalia Road store to search that particular car, Lane explained during a press conference.
Where is the store in Collierville?
The stores is located in Collierville, which is a city about 25 miles east of Memphis.
Cops received the call of an active shooter at the Kroger located at 240 New Byhalia Rd.
Some 44 employees were inside the store at the time of the shoot.
Who were the victims?
Police are yet to identify all victims though friends of a woman who died in the shooting have identified her as Olivia King.
Kind was a longtime resident of the area, according to commercialappeal.com.
A close friend said King was originally from San Antonio and was widowed with three sons: one in the Navy, one in the Air Force and one who had just earned a doctorate.
They said she often attended Catholic mass and had previously worked as a financial secretary at a local school.
One victims is in ICU and another is in surgery.