Deadly Lauderdale Lakes Walmart shooting involved customer trying to stop fight between 2 workers

By CBS MIAMI TEAM

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    FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (WFOR) — The shopper who was fatally shot inside a Lauderdale Lakes Walmart on Tuesday was a Good Samaritan who intervened in a physical fight between the suspected shooter and another employee at the store.

The customer who got involved in the dispute at the store, located at 3001 N. State Road 7, was rushed to Broward Health Medical Center where he later died. Officials have not publicly identified him but said he is in his 30s.

A Walmart employee was also hurt during the incident.

Authorities identified the shooter as Tironie Shavar Sterling, 22, a store employee who was not working but who had gone to the Broward County store around 2 p.m. to meet with another woman who also worked at the store.

Sterling has been charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery by sudden snatching. He was taken to the Broward County jail but it was not clear if bond has been set.

The shooting led to mass panic inside the store.

“I heard somebody (and) I see people running and everything, so I chose to follow them and go outside,” said Rose Alexander Satchelle, who works at the store.

The Broward Sheriff’s Office said this was not a random shooting.

“I don’t think that this particular situation, unfortunately, is terribly unique, but it just reminds us all to be on watch at all times,” said sheriff’s spokesman Carey Codd.

According to a written statement by the sheriff’s office, Sterling went to the store even though he was not working that day to meet with a female employee.

The two began arguing and the dispute turned physical, according to the statement.

At some point, the suspect dropped a gun and attempted to take the woman’s cell phone.

That’s when the customer intervened and began physically fighting with Sterling, who retrieved the gun and shot the man several times before leaving the store.

The victim was airlifted to the hospital but was pronounced dead there.

BSO said individuals who left property and belongings inside the Walmart or vehicles in the parking lot could return to the store at 10 a.m. Wednesday to retrieve them.

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