In a tense, videotaped incident on Wednesday, Mississippi police shot and killed a woman who was holding a Walmart employee hostage.
According to investigators and video of the event, Corlunda McGinister, 21, was fatally shot by officers inside the megastore’s Richland branch after oddly demanding to talk with a television anchor while she was holding the scared worker.
After posting on social media on Wednesday that there had been a gun incident inside Walmart at 5:45 p.m., Richland police later announced that there had been an officer-involved shooting inside the retail giant.
Online videos depict a woman making a specific demand while holding what seemed to be a gun.
The woman, who looked to be holding the gun in one hand and the hostage in the other, yelled, “Hey, give me a news anchor down here right now.”
“I need help, I need help. Give me a news anchor down here,” she can be heard saying.
The woman added that she had no desire to harm anyone. Throughout the terrifying encounter, she refused requests to let the woman go, according to the footage.
Footage also showed a woman continuing to demand a news anchor while police officers repeatedly demanded that she put down her gun.
Richland Police Chief Nick McLendon told WAPT that everyone lost out as a result of the stressful confrontation.
He said that no other victims of the shooting were hurt.
The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting independently.
According to WLBT, Walmart reopened its doors on Thursday.
According to the TV station, there was law enforcement present both inside and outside of Walmart to ensure the safety of customers.
