John Jefferson
Insets: Shooting victim Nicole Olson and suspects Ezekiel Burden, 17, and Brian Campbell, 18 (Lumberton Police Department). Background: The Walmart where Nicole Olson was shot and killed (WNCN/YouTube).
A woman waiting in line at a Walmart in North Carolina was gunned down Friday afternoon by a 17-year-old suspect who was trying, along with a friend, to shoot and kill two other people he “knew,” according to police.
Ezekiel Burden, of Lumberton, is currently wanted for first-degree murder, discharge of a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear and other charges related to the fatal shooting of 42-year-old Brandy Nicole Olson at a local Walmart Supercenter, according to the Lumberton Police Department. His buddy, Brian Campbell, 18, is wanted for being an accessory after the fact. The two of them allegedly fled from the Walmart after the shooting, leaving residents on edge about whether it’s safe to still do their last-minute shopping, according to local officials.
The suspects appeared to be targeting two people who were standing at the Woodforest Bank located inside the Walmart, police said. Olson was also in line at the bank when she was shot, according to police.
Cellphone footage captured by a shopper who was inside the Lumberton Walmart has audio where at least six gunshots can be heard ringing out from the front of the store near the bank where Olson was shot.
“The scariest s— I have ever experienced!” wrote Kayleann Brooke on Facebook, where she shared the video.
“With all the mass shooting happening I thought my life was over. It’s a feeling I never wanna experience again. So thankful to be safe and my children were not with me. My heart and prayers go out to everyone involved and the family of the victim!”
Another shopper, Steven Rumsey, told Raleigh CBS affiliate WNCN that Olson appeared to be trying to escape during the mayhem when she was accidentally struck by gunfire.
“When he started shooting, the lady ran in front of him,” Rumsey said.
Lumberton Police reported on Facebook that Olson was checking out.
“As gunshots were fired the victim, who was waiting in line, was struck and killed,” the department said.
City Councilman John Cantey Jr. told local ABC affiliate WTVD that his office has seen an influx of calls from concerned citizens worried about doing their last-minute shopping now that this shooting happened and the suspects are still on the loose.
“A lot of the citizens are calling,” he said Saturday. “Our citizens are afraid. They are fearful of this holiday season. And it is a tragedy. And our prayers, on behalf of my precinct, and the city goes out to the lady’s family.”
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