A Tennessee woman is suing Walgreens after an employee accused her of shoplifting and shot her seven times in the store’s parking lot, leaving her in critical condition.
According to court documents filed Wednesday and obtained by FOX Business, in April of last year, East Nashville Walgreens employee Mitarius Boyd accused Travonsha Ferguson, who was 7 months pregnant, or a friend of hers of “walking Walgreens from inside the store.” They suspected that the suspect was trying to shoplift Greens merchandise.
According to the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department, Boyd received a report from another employee that two women were stealing merchandise from the store in the 2500 block of Gallatin Avenue.
Boyd said he saw the women putting items into store carts and large shoulder bags and began recording them with his cell phone. Police said the man followed them as they left the store without paying.
Boyd told police he approached the women as they were putting items in the trunk.
Mr. Ferguson claimed in his lawsuit that Mr. Boyd “never identified himself as an employee and aggressively confronted them, “swearing and screaming” about the alleged products.”
In court documents, the lawsuit alleges that Ferguson sprayed Boyd with mace “out of fear of imminent physical harm to baby Ferguson and himself.”
Boyd then fired at Ferguson “up to seven times, resulting in serious bodily harm to her and the baby,” the document states.
Boyd admitted to police that he pulled out a semi-automatic handgun and began firing. He also said he did not know if they were armed, according to the police report.
After the women fled the scene, Boyd returned to the store and called 911.
Meanwhile, police said Ferguson was rushed to hospital and underwent an emergency caesarean section in “serious but stable condition.”
According to the complaint, she has “suffered internal and/or intestinal injuries and due to medical necessity, must now wear a colostomy bag to survive.”
Her baby “fought for his life for weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit” and was “at increased risk for long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities,” the lawsuit continued.
Ferguson’s attorney, L. Chris Stewart, told FOX Business in a statement that Ferguson currently has “long-term health issues that he must deal with on a daily basis.”
Stewart also claimed that babies born prematurely “suffer life-changing heart defects and require ongoing care.”
Police said Boyd cooperated with detectives, his gun was seized and he handed over his cellphone as evidence. Court documents say Boyd violated Walgreens policies, which resulted in his termination.
“We will hold Walgreens accountable for the egregious actions of an employee who was a team leader at that location,” Stewart said. “Following someone into a parking lot and shooting them seven times on suspicion of shoplifting is outrageous and cannot be tolerated by businesses across the country.”
Walgreens declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
