Walmart shooting: 16-year-old shoplifting suspect shot, killed, deputies say

OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. - The Osceola County Sheriff's Office identified the person shot and killed by an off-duty deputy at a Poinciana Walmart as a 16-year-old. Deputies said the teenager, who was suspected of attempting to shoplift with two others from the store on Thursday night, was armed with a handgun and ran after being confronted by the deputy, allegedly in the direction of other customers who were inside the store. 

The sheriff's office said there were two other people with the teenager inside the store at the time: a juvenile and a man in his 20s. No one's names have been released and the two other people, while identified, have not been named as suspects or arrested, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office told FOX 35 in an email.

The backstory:

According to the sheriff's office, around 7:45 p.m. on Thursday night, Feb. 19, the Walmart loss prevention officer told an off-duty deputy that three males were hiding items underneath their clothing and were attempting to walk out of the store.

The deputy confronted the three – and all ran away, the sheriff's office said. One person, later identified as the teenager, had a handgun in his hand and was "approaching other customers inside the store" as he ran away from the deputy, the sheriff's office said.

The deputy fired his gun and struck the teenager, who died inside the store, the sheriff's office said. The other two people kept running and were not immediately located.

On Friday, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office said it knows who the two other people are – and where they are – but clarified that they have not been named suspects or arrested on any potential charges.

One witness who talked with FOX 35 said as soon as the shooting happened, people inside the store were running and screaming. That witness, who did not want to show their face on camera, thought that she and her daughter were going to die.

Less than 24 hours later, the chaos inside the store is still impacting them.

"I cannot breathe. I have panic attacks, and it's been like crazy. I couldn't skeep. I've been crying a lot, like, it's hard," the person said. 

Tazzie Hitchman was inside shopping with his girlfriend. He said he heard two "pops" at first, followed by several more rounds.

"We heard like several more shots after that, then they kind of clicked us like, okay, no, let's get out of here," he said.

The sheriff's office said three people, described as Good Samaritans, told the off-duty deputy that they were armed and would help as needed.

FDLE to investigate the shooting

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) will be the lead agency to investigate the shooting, which is standard protocol in law enforcement-related shootings. The deputy has been placed on administrative leave, which is also standard in law enforcement-related shootings.

Because of FDLE's investigation, OCSO said it would not share additional information on the shooting, including potential bodycam video or surveillance video.