A Costco employee was fatally shot in Ohio over the weekend after confronting a man who was allegedly attempting to enter the store with a firearm.
Officers responding to the scene found the man—later identified as Randolph Corrigan, 61—suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to an area hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said.
Christian Bryant, a 22-year-old long-haul truck driver from Fort Worth, Texas, was taken into custody following the incident and has been charged with unclassified felony murder.
According to court filings viewed by NTD, Bryant tried to enter Costco "with a drum magazine protruding from one of his pockets," but was confronted by Corrigan, who "attempted to prevent him from entering the store with the firearm."
"Witnesses reported that Christian Bryant fired one round into the body of [Corrigan] who fell to the ground, and after a 'split-second' pause, he fired many more, one after another, with no pause," the probable cause affidavit reads.
Strongsville detectives recovered thirteen spent shell casings while processing the scene, as well as a Springfield XD-40 handgun loaded with 37 rounds and one in the chamber, which was found near Bryant at the time of his arrest, the filing states.
Bryant's public defender could not immediately be reached for comment. NTD reached out to Costco for a statement, but a response was not immediately received by publication time.
Authorities said the incident remains under investigation. Officials asked anyone who witnessed the shooting and has not yet spoken with detectives to come forward by emailing their contact information to [email protected].
A tribute to Corrigan was shared in a GoFundMe page created after his death, which has raised more than $55,000 as of Wednesday afternoon. The fundraiser's organizer, Holly Marie, said Corrigan had been the sole caregiver of her 86-year-old grandmother.
"Randy was an amazing, funny, and generous man who completely turned his life around after some trouble in his younger days. He was selfless and caring," she wrote. "He LOVED going to work at Costco, always talking about his coworkers. He would joke, laugh, and pass around sweet treats to everyone around him, making every day brighter for those he met."