A Kaufman, Texas, Walmart shooting on Tuesday resulted in one death and one clinging to life in what law enforcement is calling a murder and attempted suicide,
according to the Athens Daily Review.
Law enforcement told the newspaper that around 9:40 a.m. Donald Ray Coleman, 55, allegedly walked into the Walmart in Kaufman, southeast of Dallas, located employee John D. Morgan, 59, and shot him multiple times before turning the gun on himself.
The Daily Review reported that Morgan died at the scene while Coleman was taken by a medical helicopter to a Dallas-area hospital in critical condition.
The Dallas Morning News confirmed the hospital as Parkland Memorial.
KDFW-TV wrote that it originally reported that Coleman committed suicide but added that authorities on the scene said he remained alive Tuesday afternoon after shooting himself in the head.
The men both lived as neighbors in Henderson County and Morgan had reportedly started dating Coleman's estranged wife. The newspaper said Coleman was wanted by the Gun Barrel City Police Department after he allegedly pistol-whipped his wife and threatened to kill her in January.
"We don't know why he chose this day or this time to come to Kaufman to do this," said Capt. Ed Black, with the Kaufman Police Department.
Walmart employees were allowed to return to the store about 11 a.m. but shoppers were not allowed back.
"We're deeply saddened by the tragic situation that occurred in our store today," a Walmart spokesman said in a statement,
according to WFAA-TV. "We're assisting law enforcement however we can and our thoughts are with the families and our associates at this time."
Regarding the January Gun Barrel City incident, authorities said the victim suffered severe facial injuries and had to be taken to the East Texas Medical Center emergency room,
according to The Monitor. She told authorities that the incident began as an argument when Coleman allegedly turned violent and struck her.
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