Walmart Shopper Tackles Would-Be Shoplifter Who Threatened To Hurt People

KEY POINTS

The suspect tried to shoplift but employees stopped him
He said he would hurt anyone who would try to touch him
A customer confronted him and they got into a brawl
Police charged the suspect with DUI, hit-and-run and attempted theft

A Walmart customer got into a fistfight with a seemingly intoxicated 29-year-old man who threatened to hurt other shoppers in the store Tuesday. A bystander took a video of the incident and posted it on social media, where it garnered significant online attention.

The beginning of the incident can be traced to when the suspect crashed his vehicle into a parked car in the parking lot of Walmart in Federal Way, Washington, Federal Way Police said as per Q13 News. The suspect either didn't realize or care that he had crashed into a car, possibly due to his alleged intoxication.

After the crash, the suspect entered the store. He tried to shoplift until Walmart employees confronted him, Cmdr. Kurt Schwan of the Federal Way Police Department told Q13 News.

The suspect reportedly said that he would fight anyone who would try to touch him, but that was when a 21-year-old Walmart customer decided to intervene and take matters into his own hands.

In the video recorded by a bystander, the two men can be seen going at each other. Shoppers around them try to stop the fight, but they are unsuccessful. The fight goes on and the two men throw punches at each other. The customer then grabs the suspect and drags him to the ground after wrestling with him.

Well I never thought I’d see this in real life. I was at a Walmart in Federal Way, WA & an anti-masker got violent with another customer who owned him while he was being escorted out. He refused to give the merchandise to the associate. Look how all that worked out. pic.twitter.com/mUn6bUD39p
— CJirishlez (@CJirishlez) March 30, 2021

A security officer managed to pull the shopper away from the man, a report from the New York Post said. The customer's only injury was a cut to his hand.

The suspect walked out of the store, but police were already waiting for him outside. He was taken into custody and booked for attempted theft, hit and run and driving while under the influence.

The suspect was maskless during the fight. An employee provided the man with a mask when he entered the store, but the mask came off at some point during the brawl, a Walmart spokesperson said as per Q13 News.