A Nashville woman is in critical condition and had to have an emergency C-section performed to deliver her premature baby after she was shot multiple times by a Walgreens employee on Wednesday night, police said in a Thursday press release.
The Walgreens employee, Mitarius Boyd, 21, told police that a pregnant woman and another collaborator were seen shoplifting items from the store and when he went to confront them in the parking lot, one of them sprayed him with mace.
Boyd said that was when he pulled out his semi-automatic pistol and started firing shots. He claimed he was scared and didn’t know if the two people were armed.
Homicide detectives with Metro Nashville Police are investigating the shooting and the self-defence claim. Once the investigation has concluded, the Nashville District Attorney’s office will decide whether Boyd will face charges for the shooting, police said.
The incident began when Boyd, who is the team leader at the Walgreens in question, was informed by another employee that two women were shoplifting in the store.
Boyd said he saw the women put items in a shopping cart and a large over-the-shoulder bag. He told police that he pulled out his cell phone and filmed the women as they walked out of the store without paying.
He continued following the woman and filming them as they headed over to a vehicle and began unloading the items into the trunk. Nashville police have not said if they have reviewed the alleged video footage.
Just before 8 p.m. local time, Boyd said he walked towards the back of the car where one of the women started spraying him with mace.
“Boyd said he then pulled his semi-automatic pistol and began shooting, saying he was in fear and didn’t know if they were armed,” police wrote in the press release.
The two women took off in the car and Boyd went back to the store to call 911.
Travonsha Ferguson, 24, was left with multiple gunshot wounds following the encounter, police reported. She was seven months pregnant.
The other woman who was with her drove Ferguson to Nashville General Hospital and dropped her off before fleeing the scene. The other woman still remains unidentified by police.
Hospital staff then transported Ferguson by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where an emergency C-Section was performed to deliver Ferguson’s premature baby. The baby was not injured by the gunfire but is in critical, yet stable, condition — as is the mother.
Boyd has been cooperating with detectives throughout the investigation and it is still unclear if he will face charges. Authorities seized his gun and cell phone following the incident.
On Friday, a Nashville police spokesperson told USA Today that Ferguson has not yet been interviewed by police due to her critical condition. She is expected to recover and her child is “doing OK,” he said.
It is also unclear if charges will be pressed against Ferguson.
Walgreens made a statement the day after the shooting, writing: “The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated at our stores. We take this matter seriously and are cooperating with local authorities.”