Update, 6/12/23 – The alleged Aiken Walmart shooter, 32-year-old Stephen Foreman, was denied bond Thursday.
He’s is facing Attempted Murder and Weapon Possession charges in the shooting of a 13-year-old girl.
No motive for the shooting has been released.
Medical professionals say, “She has a very long road to recovery ahead of her. Surgery was held last night to basically assess the damage. At least two to three more following. No telling how her career will be affected, not to mention her mental state.”
The family has created a GoFundMe account to help the teen’s medical bills and recovery costs.
Update, 10:40 a.m. – The suspect, identified as 32-year-old Stephen Foreman, a resident of Aiken, has been charged with Attempted Murder and Possession of a Weapon During the Commission of a Violent Crime.
Currently, there is no known relationship between the victim and the suspect.
There is also no known motive at this time.
According to an incident report, Foreman called police to tell them he was at a nearby KFC and that he left the gun, a Colt 1911, on a shelf in the store.
The victim’s family has been active on social media with its friends updating the victim’s status. Out of respect, we are choosing not to identify the parents or the victim until we receive permission from them.
Walmart has released the following statement on the shooting:
Senseless violence like this is inexcusable, especially involving a teenager. Our thoughts are with this young girl and her family, and we’re hopeful for her healthy recovery. Additionally, counseling services have been offered to our associates.
We’re grateful for the swift response of law enforcement and will work with them in every way possible during their investigation.
The Associated Press reports Foreman was arrested previously for an alleged Kidnapping.
It states on May 3, 2019, Aiken Public Safety officers responded to a home on Interlachen Court around 11 p.m. and met with three victims – a 65-year-old man, his 62-year-old wife and their 32-year-old son.
The victims told investigators they were watching television when they heard a loud noise from the suspect’s bedroom upstairs.
They claimed to police the suspect came downstairs armed with a sawed-off shotgun and forced them to the corner of the room.
The report states the suspect allegedly threw tape to his brother, telling him to secure the parents and then himself. He also took the victim’s phones and started talking “jibberish,” which did not make sense to the victims.
After the victims were secured, the suspect reportedly went upstairs with keys to his older brother’s gun safe.
While the suspect was upstairs, the victims freed themselves, ran behind the home and used a phone, which one victim had hidden.
Investigators reported Foreman drove himself to Aiken Public Safety headquarters to turn himself in to police.
AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF) – The Aiken County Department of Public Safety is investigating a shooting at a local Walmart, that left one victim injured.
It happened Wednesday night at the store on Whiskey Road.
Kari Johnson was there, “All of a sudden I saw 50 or more people running for the door and someone started screaming active shooter and I was like oh my God so my husband literally pushed me to safety in one of the aisles and told me to stay put.”
A regular night for shoppers at the Walmart on Whiskey road, ended with people running for cover and fearing for their lives.
Officers say they responded to the scene around 7:30 p.m.
Lieutenant Joe O’Conner with the Aiken Department of Public Safety said, “we arrived on scene we found one victim that victim was transported to a local hospital officers rendered aid prior to that the shooter is now in custody.”
Kari Johnson said as most people ran away from the area, but her husband rushed toward the sound of the gunshot. That’s when he found a 13-year-old girl.
“She was with her mom she was actually looking at a pair of shorts and out of no where a guy just walked up and shot her and it actually went through her arm and into her abdomen,” said Johnson.
Officers say the suspected shooters motive is not known right now. Johnson says, like for everyone in the store, this was horrifying to witness.
“And obviously there was no protocol in place because none of the employees knew what to do or where to go or anything there were actually people still trying to go in and shop and me and a couple other people were like there’s an active shooting you can not go in.”
