Deputies in Red Bluff, California have identified their suspect in a shooting Saturday at a Walmart distribution center. His name was Louis Lane, 31, according to The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office in a Redcord Searchlight report. He had been fired from the facility in February 2019 for no-showing work, authorities said. But Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston told reporters in a press conference that the motive was unclear at this time.
According to authorities, Lane circled the distribution center’s parking lot four times while driving an SUV, then crashed into the lobby, and opened fire randomly with what they described as a semiautomatic long gun. His vehicle hit one person, Johnston said.
Lane got into a gunfight with authorities, and died, according to the sheriff’s office account.
“I would estimate 20 to 30 rounds exchanged,” Johnston said in to UPI report. Authorities said there were about 200 employees on shift during the shooting, but they locked themselves in a room, according to KHSL.
At the end of the day, four people were reported to be injured. Two people died: the alleged shooter Lane, and a victim identified as Martin Haro-Lozano, 45, who was an employee of the distribution center. It’s unclear if the men knew each other.
The survivors were being treated at St. Elizabeth Community Hospital.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” Walmart said in a statement obtained by CBS San Francisco. “Our focus is on supporting our associates, as well as their families and co-workers in the facility. This is an active police investigation and we will continue to work with Tehama County Sheriff’s Office and assist in their investigation in any way possible.”
[Screengrab via KCRA]