An innocent bystander collapsed and later died while fleeing a shooting incident at a Walmart store in Beavercreek, Ohio Tuesday.
Beavercreek police shot John Crawford, 22, of Fairfield, Ohio after he refused to stop waving a gun at shoppers. He was taken to Miami Valley Hospital, where he later died. Crawford’s girlfriend believes he was brandishing a toy gun, and the incident is under investigation. Police Chief Dennis Evers said officers acted appropriately when they shot Crawford.
Angela D. Williams, 37, of Fairborn, collapsed as she fled the police confrontation with Crawford, and died of what is believed to be a heart attack. According to the Greene County Coroner’s office, Williams was “apparently running from a dangerous situation inside the Walmart store when she collapsed. She was taken to Soin Medical Center where she died at 9:14 p.m.”
Williams was to be married Saturday and had children from the ages of 10-years-old to 18-years-old.
“This is a great loss to us because Angie went above and beyond” Full story: http://t.co/200VTYjZiO #WalmartShooting pic.twitter.com/ToeBOdvN8k
— WHIOTV (@whiotv) August 6, 2014
Bill Robinson, administrator of Villa Springfield, the nursing home where Williams worked, issued a statement – “Angie was a free-spirited person, she was a very compassionate person. As far as her abilities here, she was a nurse who went above and beyond. A huge part of our team. It’s very somber and a lot of emotions are going through the building right now. Sadness, shock and heartache. It’s devastating today in our building.”
Close up images of the Wal-mart in Beavercreek, shooting has occurred. Here's the latest: http://t.co/XMkfTPRCDX pic.twitter.com/wM9sxL5pFI
— Jamie Simpson (@JSimpson_WHIO) August 6, 2014
Police said a 911 call was received saying Crawford was waiving a “rifle-type weapon” at Walmart customers, including children. The Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation has been brought in as an outside party to investigate the shooting, and has yet to reveal if the gun Crawford had was real or a toy.
Both officers involved in the shooting are presently on paid administrative leave. BCI spokeswoman Jill Del Greco said, “BCI is going to look at the entire situation and look at what happened and what led up to the incident and how the officers responded. We will not make a determination of if the shooting was justified or not.”
Image via YouTube