Many store clerks keep a gun under the counter, and anytime you have guns + human emotion, you get ridiculous and unnecessary shootings, such as when homicidal gun-toting store clerks decide that the death penalty is an appropriate response to someone they suspect of shoplifting. Here are some stories involving store owners and store clerks shooting at people:
Spraying the parking lot with bullets
In Auburn Hills, Michigan, a 48-year-old woman with a concealed pistol license pulled out her gun and sprayed a parking lot with bullets while shooting at a suspected shoplifter. Put aside the lunacy of this woman thinking it befitting to punish shoplifting with the death penalty. Since none of her bullets hit her target, she endangered everyone in the vicinity. Thankfully, in this particular case, none of her errant bullets struck anyone. (USA Today, 10-9-2015, p. 4A)
Store clerks killing kids because they suspect them of shoplifting
Every so often a store clerk will decide to murder a child for shoplifting, or even because they suspect them of shoplifting. Here are some of those stories:
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In 1991, Latasha Harlins, a 15-year-old Black girl, was shot and killed by a store clerk who mistakenly accused her of stealing a bottle of orange juice. Inexplicably, the woman received only probation for murdering this child.
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In South Carolina, a store owner chased and shot a Black 14-year-old whom he falsely accused of stealing water. The boy died, and this child murdering lunatic store owner is now facing murder charges. (USA Today, 7-28-2023, p. 7B)
Additional resources on Gun Safety: