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Walmart preparing for holiday shopping 1 year after mass shooting

By WHIO Staff
By WHIO Staff

BEAVERCREEK — A gunman opened fire inside a Walmart in Beavercreek almost one year ago.

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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Walmart management and shoppers talked about potential changes to help people feel safe this year.

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The holiday shopping season is about to begin and people are heading to stores, like Walmart.

Luis Gonzales and Autumn Cooper were outside the Beavercreek Walmart Tuesday browsing Black Friday deals.

“There’s definitely a lot of kids toys in there that my daughter would enjoy,” Luis said.

Walmart invited News Center 7 inside the store, telling us they’re ready with one of the biggest shopping days of the year a little more than a week away.

“It’s an exciting time,” Walmart Store Manager Sean Espy said.

Just four days before Black Friday in 2023, a gunman shot and wounded four people before killing himself inside the store.

“Well, we’re very mindful of, of the events that occurred last year,” Espy said. “We, of course, always have security in place in our facilities to make sure that our associates and customers are safe when they’re shopping.”

Given the perspective and timing of the attack, News Center 7 asked shoppers if they thought the store should have extra security this week.

“Yeah, definitely. Because it’s definitely going to be on people’s minds that are aware of the situation. So anything to help calm and keep anxiety down is great,” Kettering resident Tori Dunbar said.

“Yeah, I think it would be smart because of what happened,” Fairborn resident Autumn Cooper said.

News Center 7 also asked Walmart management why they chose to make this announcement about Black Friday.

“Well, we understand that our customers are wanting to shop with us this Christmas season and so we’re excited about welcoming them into the facility and making sure that we get them taken care of for all of their needs this holiday season,” Espy said.

News Center 7 reached out to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) on Tuesday.

A spokesperson said they are still working with Beavercreek police to investigate the shooting and the motive.

While the investigation is in its final stages, it is still open so they can’t provide additional information.

The FBI and Beavercreek Police Department previously told News Center 7, “based on evidence collected, including journal writings from the attacker... the attack may have been at least partially inspired by Racially Motivated Violent Extremist (RMVE) ideology.”

News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.

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