3 Dead in Duncan Walmart Shooting
Duncan, Oklahoma — 3 are dead following a shooting in the parking lot of a Duncan Walmart Supercenter Monday morning.
According to Duncan Police Department (DPD) Chief of police Danny Ford, a gunman opened fire on two people, a man and a woman occupying a car located in the parking lot of the shopping center, at around 9:35 a.m.
Chief Ford said the shooter approached the car with a semi-automatic handgun firing at least 9 rounds through the windshield and killing both victims.
Some reports say an armed citizen became involved with the shooting and may have stopped the shooting, but Chief Ford said he could not confirm those reports at this time.
At some point, either after being confronted by an armed citizen or on his own, the shooter, identified by his family to 7 News as Yayo Varela, Jr., turned the gun on himself and was found dead at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Ford said there is currently no indication of motivation at this time, but both the victims and the shooter knew each other. One report suggested a love triangle and Varela the estranged husband or boyfriend of the woman killed in the shooting, but Chief Ford declined to comment on these claims.
First reports were that this may have been an active shooter situation, but Duncan police confirmed the shooter never entered Walmart and no other citizens were harmed during the shooting.
Walmart spokeswoman LeMia Jenkins, confirmed that no employees were injured, and the store was not evacuated, though there have been unsubstantiated reports that the one of the three fatally wounded either currently, or used to work for Walmart.
This shooting follows on the heels of a mass shooting at an El Paso Texas Walmart on August 3rd which killed 22 people.
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