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On Wednesday, December 21, 2022, Christmas shoppers at a Walmart store in Richland, Mississippi, were found in a terrifying hostage situation. Corlunda McGinister, a resident of West Helena, Arkansas, held a worker captive at gunpoint inside the store.
In a news release, a spokesperson from the Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Bailey Martin, identified the perpetrator and confirmed that she was fatally shot by a police officer.
Trigger Warning: This article contains several mentions of details about the hostage situation and shooting. Reader discretion is advised.
What took place during and after the Mississippi Walmart hostage situation
According to the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, the shooting occurred at the Jackson suburb of Richland around 5:45 pm on Wednesday. Footage taken by witnesses shows McGinister walking around the store holding a wide-eyed Walmart worker by her head and a gun in the other. However, it is yet unclear what made the Arkansas resident pull out the gun.
The clip shows a clearly distressed McGinister fidgeting and demanding to speak to a news anchor. She can be heard asking for help and yelling:
"Get a news anchor (in) here now"
She continues to walk around the store, holding the worker at gunpoint. Shortly after, she spots a shopper taking the frightening recording and insists that she is not going to hurt the hostage. This leads the man to request:
"Why won't you let her go then, please?"
To which she immediately shouts back:
"We're not doing this crooked cop!"
Cops were soon called, and they promptly rushed to the scene. The video cuts to two officers entering the store and talking to Corlunda McGinister, who hid behind a corner along with the terrified Walmart worker.
They tell her to put up her hands, let go of the gun, and step out where they can see her a few times as McGinister demands to see a news anchor. They eventually fatally shot the woman, ending the hostage situation.
One shopper recalls the moment when she was about to enter the store for last-minute Christmas shopping while others were rushing to get outside and screaming, "get out." She told WAPT-TV:
"We barely got in, people were running out and people were screaming "get out" to me and my cousin... So we ran out and it was just horrifying and then we heard the gunshot."
After the incident, Richland police Chief Nick McLendon confirmed with WAPT-TV that no one else was injured in the Walmart shooting. He pointed to the Christmas season stress, stating:
"It’s devastating for all parties involved — the officers, everybody that was involved in this situation... You know, with the Christmas season coming, mental health is a big deal because of the stress involved in the Christmas season."
Currently, the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation is examining the whole situation.
The incident happened just weeks after a mass shooting took place inside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, where a gunman fatally shot at least six people and injured several others before shooting himself.
