A Walmart employee was arrested early Friday after police say she intentionally drove her vehicle into the Suwanee store.

Rachel Newman of Lawrenceville, identified by Walmart as an hourly sales associate in the photo lab, was charged with felony aggravated assault, felony criminal damage to property and misdemeanor reckless conduct.

The felony assault charge stems from the possibility that a customer or an employee nearby could have been injured during the incident, Suwanee Police Captain Clyde Byers said Friday.

Walmart spokeswoman Ashley Hardie would not say what may have prompted Newman to ram the store, saying only that police are investigating the incident. Hardie said Newman, who has been suspended pending the investigation, has been with the store since March.

"We are grateful there were no injuries," Hardie said.

Customers and employees were in the 24-hour Walmart, at 3245 Lawrenceville Suwanee Road, when Newman backed her vehicle into the front entrance near the store’s food mart around 6:30 a.m., police said.

Store manager Sam Qubty said the store’s front door received minor damage.

Newman, who was arrested at the scene, was taken to the Gwinnett County Jail.

About the Author

Featured

The renovation of Jekyll Island's Great Dunes golf course includes nine holes designed by Walter Travis in the 1920s for the members of the Jekyll Island Club. Several holes that were part of the original layout where located along the beach and were bulldozed in the 1950s.(Photo by Austin Kaseman)

Credit: Photo by Austin Kaseman