19-year-old woman ID’d as suspect in South Fulton Walmart shooting

The Walmart on Old National Highway was closed Tuesday after a shooting suspect was arrested inside the store, police said.

Credit: NewsChopper2

Credit: NewsChopper2

The Walmart on Old National Highway was closed Tuesday after a shooting suspect was arrested inside the store, police said.

Police have identified the woman suspected of shooting another woman in the parking lot of a metro Atlanta Walmart Tuesday morning.

Shameia Thomas, 19, of Augusta, was arrested on charges of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, according to South Fulton police spokesman Sgt. Jubal Rogers.

The shooting was the result of a verbal dispute between two women in the parking lot of the Walmart at 6149 Old National Highway, Rogers told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. That argument escalated to gunfire about 9:45 a.m. and prompted the store to evacuate, he said.

UPDATE (12:40 P.M.): Location is back open for regular business. Detectives are working a shooting that occurred in...

Posted by City of South Fulton Police Department on Tuesday, July 13, 2021

The victim was taken to the hospital in critical condition, according to Rogers. By Tuesday night, the woman was out of emergency surgery and remained in serious condition.

The store was emptied while police searched the grounds for the suspect, later identified as Thomas. She was located inside the store and taken into custody without incident, Rogers said.

The store was closed for several hours while an investigation was underway. It opened again for business about 12:30 p.m., police said.

In recent weeks, Walmart locations in Georgia have been sites of gun violence. Just last Wednesday, a man was shot and killed while sitting in the parking lot of a Walmart in Warner Robins. The suspect was seen by witnesses running away and remains at large, police said.

In late June, two men were arrested after a shootout in the parking lot of a DeKalb Walmart, authorities said. Exzavior Mosley and Darius Daniels were booked into the DeKalb County Jail, and Mosely bonded out two days later, according to online records.

— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.