Man arrested after active shooter scare at Silver City Walmart, but no injuries
SILVER CITY, New Mexico -- A man was arrested on a theft-related charge by police following a report of shots fired that caused an active shooter scare at the Silver City Walmart store on Thursday afternoon.
Fire officials told ABC-7 that no one was injured in the incident and confirmed that police had taken a man into custody.
A Walmart spokesperson said a customer heard what sounded like a gunshot inside the store and called police, but thus far there was no evidence that a gun was actually fired.
New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales and some relatives were among the shoppers in the store who were all told to evacuate when events unfolded around 1 p.m.
"We were notified over the announcement system that employees and customers needed to evacuate because of a possible active shooter," he told our Albuquerque ABC affiliate KOAT. "Obviously (it was) a scary situation for everyone."
Police Chief Fred Portillo told the Silver City Daily Press that a man in his 30s, identified as Isaac Vigil, was under arrest for shoplifting in the wake of the incident.
The chief said immediately after hearing the gunshot noise, store employees saw Vigil take a knife from a display case and flee the store. He was caught a short time later by police near the Flame Convention Center.
Portillo said his officers recovered the knife from Vigil but did not find any gun or other weapons.
New Mexico State Police said they were assisting Silver City Police in investigating the situation. A lock-down of the Walmart was lifted just after 3 p.m. and the store reopened for business.