Shooting outside Brown Deer Walmart, former employee charged
BROWN DEER, Wis. - A former Walmart employee is charged with two felonies related to a shooting outside the Brown Deer store on Friday, March 1.
Prosecutors accuse 21-year-old Carlton Young of first-degree recklessly endangering safety and endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon. In a statement Wednesday, Walmart told FOX6 News that Young is no longer with the company.
It happened around 3:15 p.m. Friday at the store near 64th and Brown Deer. Police said they were first called for a fight – but learned shots were fired in the parking lot while officers were on the way.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Upon arrival at the scene, witnesses told police that the shooter ran off. Police said the people involved in the fight also left the scene; according to a criminal complaint, bullets struck their car as they drove away. Five spent bullet casings were found at the scene.
A Walmart employee told investigators that Young – another employee of the store – got into a fight with two people in the customer service area, per the complaint. After the fight was broken up, that employee said the group left and Young followed them into the parking lot and shot at their SUV from just outside the exit doors.
"I just went to the floor, I got down," said customer Amanda Hedrick, who was shopping there at the time. "People went running and screaming. It was just scary."
Carlton Young
The complaint states Young ran and hopped a fence behind the store. Officers then found Young with a handgun in his waistband and arrested him in a residential neighborhood just north of the store.
Surveillance video from the store matched the Walmart employee's description of events, according to the complaint. Prosecutors also said, based on that video, everyone involved in the fight "seem to know each other." It also showed there were several customers "walking in close proximity" to Young when he fired shots.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX6 News app for iOS or Android.
In an interview with detectives, the complaint states Young described the shooting as "really just self-defense" and said he "got jumped." He also said he did not know any of the other people involved.
Days after the shooting, the store is once again filled with customers.
"It doesn’t surprise me at all," Phillips said. "More and more violent incidents are happening to where it’s just normal. Walmart is becoming known for this type of behavior."
Customers do not want to see what happened repeated.
Young made his initial court appearance on Wednesday, March 6. His cash bond was set at $7,500.