Gun goes off in south Springfield Walmart

A gun went off inside a south Springfield Walmart Supercenter on Tuesday evening, as officers confronted multiple individuals suspected of shoplifting.

"A foot chase took place inside the store, and as one of the suspects fled, he fired one round from a handgun," Lt. Fred Beck said. "Nobody was injured, nobody was hit, and the suspect fled out the back door."

The shot went off about 7:30 p.m. The store at 3315 S. Campbell Ave. was evacuated and closed to the public for several hours, as police and store officials stood guarding main entrances. As of 9:15 p.m., the individual said to have fired the shot had not been located. Two other individuals were in police custody, Beck said.

Store associates interviewed by the News-Leader described a chaotic scene. Bryanna Grzyb stood outside the Walmart, still holding the ring box she was handling when the shot was fired.

"I was at the jewelry counter and it was pretty busy and I was helping a lot of customers, suddenly I'm looking toward the self checkout area and we just hear all the screaming and yelling ... That was probably for about 30 seconds and then all of a sudden, gunshot," Grzyb said. "Everyone freaks out, then starts running around and the parents are grabbing their children ... it was straight up panic."

Beck described the suspect as a white male wearing a dark hoodie.