A fight over stolen fried chicken and dog food is what led to a Walmart Neighborhood Market employee being shot on January 28, 2024 at the Pineville, NC location. Jonathan Smith, 33, is accused of shooting the Walmart employee.
The incident began at 6:30 p.m. at the store on Pineville-Matthews Road. Jonathan was in the the self checkout lane in the Walmart.
A Walmart employee confronted Jonathan about him allegedly not scanning his chicken or his dog food.
Jonathan scanned the dog food but allegedly didn’t pay for or scan the chicken, police say.
The Walmart employee tried to grab the chicken from Jonathan. A scuffle then started between them.
Other Walmart employees broke up the melee.
Jonathan left the store and allegedly returned with a gun. Jonathan is accused of confronting several employees.
Another fight began, and Jonathan’s gun fell to the ground. Jonathan and several Walmart employees jumped to grab for the fallen gun, and in the process one of the Walmart employees was shot in the leg.
The gun accidentally went off during the grab. The Walmart employee was taken to the hospital with life threatening injuries.
Jonathan was arrested and charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and misdemeanor larceny.
