A man shot a woman and toddler to death before killing himself at grocery store in Florida on Thursday, police said.
Panicked shoppers raced from a Publix in Royal Palm Beach, when the bullets started flying at 11:30 a.m. Store employees immediately shouted for everyone to get out, witnesses said.
Police identified the shooter as 55-year-old Timothy J. Wall, local ABC affiliate WPBF reported.
The family of the two victims requested their names be withheld, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet. Cops said there was no relation between Wall and the victims, identified only as a 1-year-old boy and his grandmother.
Juan Guardia was at the deli when he heard the gunshots coming from the produce aisle.
“I heard, ‘They’re shooting!’ A woman Publix worker said, ‘Run! Shooting!'” Guardia said. “I was scared. It’s sad because everything happened fast. Everyone was running, some employees were crying.”
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay said the child would have turned 2 next month, WPTV reported.
Royal Palm Beach resident Oahtee Moody expressed his shock to the Palm Beach Post.
“This is not a Publix problem. This is a people problem,” he said. “I was born and raised here, and I never would expect this to happen.”
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay called for local politicians to take action.
“Tomorrow we must step up and engage in a very honest conversation about why this happened and what we can do specifically to prevent this violence,” McKinlay said. “Inaction is not an option.”
With News Wire Services
