Police rushed to a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas Tuesday on reports that shots were fired and a gunman may have taken at least one hostage.
Nearly an hour after city officials reported an "active shooter incident," police said they had entered the Walmart and there was no "ongoing" shooting.
The view of the active shooter scene at Walmart from I-27 & Austin, northeast corner of the store. @PanhandlePBS pic.twitter.com/dPwvi2X7qN
— Karen_Welch (@KWelch806) June 14, 2016
They also said there were no confirmed gunshot victims, and described the incident to local media as "workplace violence." Witnesses told KVII an employee took another employee hostage.
Police were looking for a Somali man wearing khaki pants, KFDA added. Officers reportedly were evacuating shoppers from the west side of the store.
The City's Office of Emergency Mgt., @AmarilloPD and @AmarilloFire are on the scene of an active shooter incident, Walmart, I-27 & Georgia.
— CityofAmarillo (@CityofAmarillo) June 14, 2016
Jeff Nunn, the president of a nearby bank, told the Amarillo Globe-News that helicopters and roughly 20 police and emergency vehicles rushed to the store. His bank and a day care center reportedly went on lockdown.
BREAKING: Police: No confirmed gunshot victims, no ongoing shooting at Amarillo, Texas, Wal-Mart.
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 14, 2016
Police closed off at least one nearby road off I-27. "Please avoid the area so that officers can focus on the scene and not traffic," the Amarillo Police Dept. said in a statement.
