Incident at Florida Walmart

Before we dive into the details, let me just say I haven’t actually seen the list of people involved, so I’m just guessing here. I mean, it probably doesn’t include individuals who died by suicide from accidental shootings or anything like that. It’s entirely possible there wasn’t a list at all.

Anyway, I’m not passing judgment on anyone.

According to Tampa Bay 28, here’s what went down. Last Thursday, deputies from Sarasota County were called to a Walmart in Venice, Florida, after reports of “pops” and some “stains of blood near the restroom.”

Deputies who arrived on the scene evacuated the store and cleared it out, but surprisingly, no one was there when they checked. They reviewed the surveillance footage and saw a “white male entering the store with a holstered gun in his waistband.”

As the footage played, it showed the gun going off when the man tried to adjust it in his holster. The bullet seems to have hit him in both the leg and groin area. Ouch. That’s really not an injury you want to deal with by yourself, especially not in a Walmart bathroom. By the time the officers showed up, the guy had already left the store to get medical help.

Shortly thereafter, he was found on the Sarasota Memorial Hospital campus. Whether he will face any charges remains unclear.

Regardless of legal consequences, he’s got some serious reevaluating to do. If it were me, I’d spend some time just reflecting on the day—from waking up to the trip to Walmart and then ending up in the hospital. Were the shorts appropriate? Was there an issue with the holster? What about the gun itself?

So many questions, right? But if he comes to the conclusion that everything is fine clothing-wise and equipment-wise, the one major takeaway should be that the business end of the gun is definitely not pointed at one’s groin anymore.