By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer
CALERA
– At 11:10 a.m. on Thursday, June 19, the Calera Police Department was called to respond to a shooting in the Walmart Parking lot, located at 5100 U.S. Highway 31. No one was injured during the altercation.
Three units were on duty working accidents and responded to the scene. Two school resource officers providing supplemental summer patrol while school is out responded to the scene as well.
The suspect was located and placed under arrest less than 20 minutes after the call was sent out to all units. According to victim and witness reports, the suspect exited her vehicle and fired her gun into the victim’s car.
A bullet hole entered the victim’s vehicle through the rear driver’s side door and exited through the passenger side rear window. The bullet ended up near a car seat that was empty.
“Our country has serious problems when people get so angry over a parking spot that they pull out a gun and fire into an occupied vehicle,” Calera Chief of Police David Hyche said in a release. “If a child had been in that car seat this could have been a far more tragic event.”
A prompt response from the witness allowed local law enforcement officers to act quickly and apprehend the suspect. The quick relaying of information prevented the suspect from getting far before law enforcement tracked them down and made the arrest.
“I want to commend the witness for stepping forward and providing information,” Hyche said. “I also want to personally thank our dispatchers and officers who were short staffed and slammed with calls today. They immediately responded, passed on vital information and made the arrest. That’s how it’s done.”
The Calera Police Department will be receiving additional help with the investigation from Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.
“I’m also grateful that we have the extra bodies from our SRO crew in the summer to help out when we are overwhelmed,” Hyche said. “We will be working with the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office now to charge the suspect appropriately.”
The investigation is considered ongoing with an on-call detective at the scene.
