Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Associated Press
A U.S. airman “with no apparent motive” walked into a Wal-Mart Supercenter in North Dakota early Tuesday and opened fire with a handgun, killing one worker and injuring a second before turning the gun on himself, police said.
Grand Forks police said the shooting a few minutes after 1 a.m. may have been random, with no link yet found between Marcell Willis, 21, and either the store or the employees. Willis was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, about a dozen miles west of the city.
“We’ve not been able to find any linkage to him and any of the victims,” police Lt. Derik Zimmel said at an afternoon news conference. “There’s no apparent motive that jumps out at this time.”
Authorities didn’t immediately identify the two workers who were shot or a third worker they say Willis shot at but missed. The injured person was taken to Altru Hospital in Grand Forks with a gunshot wound that was not believed life-threatening, Zimmel said. An Altru spokeswoman said the person was in satisfactory condition Tuesday afternoon.
Willis was given medical treatment at the scene and taken to Altru, where he was pronounced dead, Zimmel said.
Willis was the only person with a gun and no police officers fired a weapon, according to Zimmel. A handgun was recovered near Willis’ body, Zimmel said.
Zimmel said police believe the airman fired only three shots before shooting himself. Police did not identify the type of handgun or its caliber. Sean Willis of Nashville, Tenn., said only that his son had been in the military for about three years and was originally from Springfield, Tenn.
Sgt. David Dobrydney, a base spokesman, said he couldn’t yet release any information about Willis due to Air Force regulations.