Shooting takes place in Wal-Mart parking lot

Published 8:46 pm Monday, June 27, 2016

The Selma Police Department is investigating a series of shootings over the weekend, including one reportedly in the Wal-Mart parking lot that left a 17-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the back of his head.

The department believes two shootings on Friday — the one near Wal-Mart and one on Bienville Street — may be related. A third on Royal Street also took place over the weekend.

Authorities believe the first shooting occurred in the Selma Wal-Mart’s parking lot Friday evening. Police responded to a call of a gunshot victim at Vaughan Regional Medical Center Friday just after 5 p.m.  The victim, a 17-year-old male, told authorities he was walking down Old Montgomery Highway when a black Honda drove by and began shooting at him, but police believe the shooting actually happened in Wal-Mart’s parking lot.

Email newsletter signup

“Our basic understanding is that [the shooting] happened at Wal-Mart,” said Lt. Sam Miller. “But they went over to Old Montgomery Highway and called the police and reported that it happened over there.”

The victim was shot once in the back of the head. Police said he is in stable condition and was scheduled for surgery this week.

Across town, a 16-year-old male was driving down Fourth Avenue near Bienville Street when he observed a black vehicle and a white vehicle shooting at each other.

The juvenile told investigators his vehicle was shot multiple times while attempting to get out of the way. The incident was later reported at 5:54 p.m. at the police department.

Investigators believe the shootings are connected because of similarities in each report, such as the car descriptions and time frame. Miller said police can only speculate the connection at this point and that no verified link has been established. The incident at Wal-Mart was not formally reported or filed.

“It’s not matching up, but we have the video from the Wal-Mart parking lot so all we have to do is go back and review it. Hopefully, we will be able to tie everything together then,” Miller said. “But we do know shots were fired in the Wal-Mart parking lot.”

Matt Joiner, store manager of the Selma Wal-Mart, declined to comment and referred calls to the company’s media relations department. Leslee Wright with Wal-Mart media relations, said the company has a policy against commenting on open investigations.

Police said both shootings remain under investigation.

A third unrelated shooting occurred Sunday on the 2100 block of Royal Street.

A 23-year-old male reported to police a 23-year-old woman he knew arrived at his residence Saturday night and was acting disorderly.

The man said he asked the woman to leave but she refused to do so. The man called the police and reported an unwanted guest at 11:29 p.m., according to authorities.

Investigators said after the report was made, the woman left and returned 30 minutes later in a vehicle. The woman fired multiple rounds at the residence and then fled the scene.

The man and his mother were in the home at the time. Investigators reported a .25 caliber round went through the living room window and multiple shell casings were recovered in the road. No injuries were reported.

Anyone with information regarding any of the shootings is encouraged to call the secret witness line at (334) 874-2190.