A man opened fire in the checkout line of a Pennsylvania Walmart, shooting three people, and then fought with police before being arrested.
Surveillance video from the Walmart in the Cedarbrook Plaza Shopping Center shows a man identified as Keenan Jones, 30, and a female companion waiting in line to check out around 6 p.m. on Aug. 14.
The video seems to show Jones take a pistol concealed in his companion’s waistband.
Jones shot a customer ahead of him in line, striking him in the leg.
He then fled toward the front of the store, continuing to fire his weapon at customers and store employees all of whom were fleeing.
Cheltenham Township Chief of Police John Frye told AP that Jones fired at least 10 shots.
A female employee who came to investigate the chaos was shot at three times and hit in the legs. Another female employee was also shot in the legs, while a fourth person was grazed by a flying bullet.
A pregnant customer was knocked down in the scramble and required medical assistance.
NBC News reported that none of the victims suffered severe or life-threatening injuries.
Shooting inside a Walmart in Cheltenham ends at Sedgwick and Williams in Philadelphia. Witness: Suspect’s car rams into a parked Police SUV and then two people take-off. Police catch-up to them. @NBCPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/B0067jhjEl
— Denise Nakano (@DeniseNakanoTV) August 14, 2018
Failed Escape Attempt
Jones and his companion, who was later identified as his 25-year-old sister, got into Jones’s 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix and fled.
A witness saw the car stop and Jones jumped out and threw away the gun, which police later recovered.
Jones got back in the car and sped off. However he smashed into the back off a parked police cruiser.
The two officers were investigating an unrelated case when they saw Jones slam into their parked car.
“The officers just got done taking a theft report and saw the vehicle crash into a police vehicle, thinking it was just an auto accident,” Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told NBC.
The two officers, who tried to stop Jones when he tried to flee the scene on foot, had no idea that he had just shot people at a Walmart less than a mile away. As far as they knew he was simply fleeing the scene of an auto accident.
Under the Influence
The officers whose car Jones hit were able to secure Jones’s sister, but Jones fought fiercely. It took several officers to cuff him and get him into a police cruiser, NBC reported.
While in the police car, Jones tried to kick out a window. He then got his cuffed hands in front of him, and attacked police officers. Police officers had to shock him with a Taser.
Jones and his sister were taken to the Einstein Medical Center for treatment after their arrests.
Frye told AP that reports from the hospital showed that he was “definitely on some type of drugs.”
One of the officers who tried to secure Jones suffered a fractured right wrist, while another suffered abrasions and contusions, 6ABC reported.
No Sleep for Five Days
Keenan Jones has been charged with criminal attempt-murder, aggravated assault, reckless endangering another person, resisting arrest, possessing instruments of crime, and persons not to possess firearms. Jones had several prior felony convictions and was not legally allowed to have a gun.
Jones’ bail was set at $1 million, as he was deemed a flight risk.
While being arraigned, Jones told the judge that he hadn’t slept in five days and had eaten something, which “made him feel strange,” 6ABC reported. He told the judge he had mental problems.
Jones was filmed by 6ABC being brought to the police station from the hospital. As he is entering the building, he told officers, “I’m sorry, man. I thought somebody was going to kill me.”
In a video obtained by 6ABC, the suspect, who still has not been identified by police, turns to the camera as he’s being taken into the Cheltenham police station and says “I’m sorry, man. I thought somebody was going to kill me.”
Walmart representative Randy Hargrove issued a statement on Aug. 14, which said, in part, “”We are relieved that an arrest has been made and thankful that injuries sustained by three of our associates and a customer are nonlife-threatening. Local authorities acted quickly and did an outstanding job. Our focus remains on supporting our associates and continuing to assist law enforcement.”
