GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A suspect is in custody after barricading themselves in a trailer and firing gunshots at police officers from the parking lot of a Walmart in Gainesville on Saturday.
The Gainesville Police Department said that around 7:50 a.m., officers went to the Walmart in Butler Plaza in response to suspicious activity. Witnesses reported hearing gunshots coming from a trailer/vehicle in the parking lot.
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Deputies from the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and Gainesville police officers came to the same location around noon after a woman called for help, claiming she needed a mediator after someone had vandalized her trailer.
Authorities said that during the call, the woman also mentioned that she accidentally shot her gun.
When police arrived, they found the woman inside the trailer, armed with a handgun, a rifle, and pistols.
The parking lot quickly became a chaotic scene as law enforcement worked to contain the situation. Nearby businesses, including restaurants, were evacuated, and many were forced to close their doors.
Stuart Eagon, who was inside a nearby store, recalled the tense moments as the situation unfolded.
“We were just sitting there—I was waiting to drink my tea, and next thing I knew, we saw a bunch of people kind of running toward the restaurant,“ Eagon recounted. ”Then we saw a guy with a rifle, and he said, ‘You need to exit through the back and do that as properly as possible.”
While stores were shutting down, multiple gunshots were heard coming from the trailer before the woman was taken into custody.
“We were able to extract her from the trailer due to some tactical intervention that was performed at the scene,” said Gainesville Police Chief Nelson Moya. “She sustained minor injuries, but she is alive and in custody.”
She was taken into custody around 2 p.m., and, as of now, no one else has been reported injured as authorities continue their investigation into the incident.