2 dead in shooting at Walmart in Miss.

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — A gunman described as a disgruntled Walmart employee fatally shot two co-workers and wounded a police officer before he was shot and arrested Tuesday at a Walmart store in northern Mississippi, authorities said.

Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore said the man, whom he did not name, shot a Southaven police officer, who was protected by a bulletproof vest and suffered minor injuries. The chief said a second Southaven officer shot the suspect, who was then taken for surgery to a hospital in neighboring Memphis, Tennessee.

Both the people killed were Walmart employees, Moore said. Employees told The Associated Press that the first was shot in the parking lot, and the second was shot inside the store.

Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite described the suspect as a disgruntled worker with a grievance against his employer. Travis Jones, an overnight stocker, said the suspect had gotten in trouble after pulling a knife on a customer.

“It wasn't an accident,” said Jones, who was working when he heard shots. “He knew what he was doing when he came in there.”

Jones said he saw the body of store manager Anthony Brown on the floor as they ran out of the store. “It was an ugly scene,” he said. DeSoto County Coroner Joshua Pounders said the 40-yearold Brown, an Olive Branch resident, appears to have died from a gunshot wound.

Nicholas Gales said the other slain worker was his brother, 38-year-old Brandon Gales of Hernando. Jones called Brandon Gales his best friend and an “allaround good guy,” saying he was the father of multiple children.

The shooting at about 6:30 a.m. brought a massive police response to the shopping complex, at a busy exit off Interstate 55 in Southaven, a suburb of 55,000 people.

“Our police really showed their guts today,” Musselwhite said, noting Southaven officers recently undertook active shooter training, “If it hadn't been for their efforts there would have been more lives lost.”

Carlos Odom, 35, had just made his usual visit to his cousin, who works there, and said he was leaving when he heard more than a dozen shots.

“I just hear gunshots,” Odom said. “Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow. Pow.”

“When the cops run into the Walmart, you hear more gunshots,” Odom said. “After that, it stopped.”

Odom said he ran out into the parking lot and later spoke by phone with his cousin, who told him one of the victims was an employee, and the gunman worked there as well.