PINEVILLE, N.C. — An argument over a customer's dog food and chicken led to a Walmart employee getting shot on Sunday, Pineville police said.
Pineville police responded to a reported shooting at the Walmart on Pineville-Matthews Road around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 28. When officers arrived, they found an employee who had been shot in the leg and learned that the whole incident apparently started over a self-checkout dispute.
According to Pineville detectives, a Walmart employee noticed that Jonathan Alan Smith didn't scan some chicken and dog food while checking out. The employee confronted Smith, who then scanned the dog food but did not pay for the chicken, investigators claimed. Smith and the employee then got into an argument that led to a brief fight that was broken up by a group of employees.
Smith allegedly returned to the store a short time later with a gun, according to Pineville police. Smith is accused of entering the store and confronting multiple employees before another fight broke out. The gun fell out of Smith's pocket, leading to the employees and Smith struggling to control the weapon. The gun then went off, shooting one of the employees in the knee.
Smith was arrested at the store and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and larceny. The employee was treated for their injuries and is expected to be OK, according to police.
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