UPDATE: SUSPECT KILLED BY SWAT, HOSTAGES SAFE – ACTIVE SHOOTER AT WALMART IN AMARILLO TEXAS

by The Right Scoop

There’s a confirmed active shooter at a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas:

NBC 24 – The Amarillo Police Department have confirmed an active shooter situation at the Walmart on I-27 and Georgia.

Police are asking the public to stay away from the area so officers can focus on the scene instead of traffic.

APD and other agencies are on the scene.

Our ABC 7 news team have confirmed the Amarillo Police Department are evacuating people out of the West side of the building. The shooter is believed to have taken hostages.

We will continue to bring you more details as soon as they come into our newsroom.

It’s being reported that hostage takers are Somali:

https://twitter.com/DarrellConwell/status/742756969438552066

 
Here is a scanner link:

 
UPDATE: I heard from the scanner myself that they have a photo of the suspect from the wife, so they obviously know the identity of the suspect.

 
UPDATE 2: Police haven’t cleared the building yet but they say they don’t have any casualties yet…

 
UPDATE 3: CBS News Channel 10 is reporting that police are looking for a Somalian man:

The Amarillo Police Department is reporting an active situation at the Amarillo Walmart at 4215 Canyon Drive. Early reports indicate an armed man is inside the store.

APD and several other agencies including DPS, Amarillo Emergency Management and Randall County are on scene. There are unconfirmed reports of a possible hostage situation. Police are searching for a Somalian man wearing Kakhi pants.

Police just stated on the police scanner that the shooter is still at large.

 
UPDATE 4: Police just stated again on the scanner that they haven’t found any injuries. Let’s hope it stays that way. They are still searching…

 
UPDATE 5: Police just stated at 1:21ET on the scanner that there are shots fired in the building.

 
UPDATE 6: Police state description is a black male wearing blue, possibly multicolored shirt over walmart shirt.

 
UPDATE 7: The suspect’s car is a light green Toyota Avalon. (minor update: with stolen tags)

 
UPDATE 8: Looks like the shooter is dead. I heard this myself on the scanner:

 
UPDATE 9: Police say they have some notes with Arabic writing on them…

 
UPDATE 10: Apparently the notes with Arabic writing on them, along with a holster, has been found in the light green Toyota Avalon, according to the police scanner…

 
UPDATE 11: Suspect shot by SWAT team and hostages are safe, per the Amarillo Police Department:

Police on the scanner said the registration for the light green Toyota Avalon came back to the name of Muhammad Khalid.

 
UPDATE 12: Of course. This was from earlier, from Randall County Sheriff’s Office Facebook. They say they are treating it like a work-place violence situation.

**** UPDATE ****
It has been confirmed that there is one person armed with a gun inside Walmart and at least one hostage.
We do consider this a work-place violence situation at this point.
All agencies are on scene, including Amarillo SWAT, APD, RCSO, PCSO and DPS. The SWAT robot is currently being utilized.
Although there were reports of shots fired when officers arrived on scene, there have been no confirmed injuries.

 
UPDATE 13: This is the last message from the Randall County Sheriff’s Office Facebook:

We want to thank everyone who helped spread the word today during the intense hostage situation at Walmart.

Your shares helped us keep the area clear during an extremely dangerous situation…and helped us inform the public in a very timely manner.

Again, the hostages were freed within the past half hour after the suspect was shot and killed by Amarillo Police Department SWAT team members.

The area will remain closed to traffic as the investigation continues, so please continue to avoid the streets around Georgia and I-27.

UPDATE 14: I reported this already, but here it is from an actual reporter:


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