ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - One man was killed and a woman was injured Thursday during an apparent domestic dispute inside a Wal-Mart on the city's southeast side, the second time in less than a week that one of the retail giant's Western stores has been the scene of deadly violence.
Police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said a witness told authorities that a man had been stabbing the woman inside the store when another man intervened and shot her attacker.
Hoffman said the stabbing appeared to stem from a domestic dispute. She did not know the relationship between the woman and the dead man, but friends of the woman told Albuquerque television stations that she had recently obtained a restraining order against her ex-husband.
"It looks like it's a possibility that the guy who shot the other man will be justified," Hoffman said. "From what witnesses are telling us, it corroborates his story that the male was stabbing the female and he intervened."
The woman, whose name was not immediately known, was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital where she was being treated for multiple stab wounds.
The man who was shot was pronounced dead at the scene. His name was not immediately released, nor was the name of the man accused of shooting him.
Witnesses told Albuquerque television stations that the gunshots shortly after 5 p.m. sent some people running as others hit the floor and crawled to safety.
Earlier this week, customers at a Wal-Mart in a Phoenix suburb also ran for their lives when a man opened fire and killed two store employees in the parking lot.
In that case, police accused 53-year-old Ed Liu of shooting 18-year-old Anthony Spangler and 36-year-old Patrick Graham on Tuesday. Both employees were collecting shopping carts at the time.
Authorities on Thursday released the 911 calls made during and after that shooting, with employees urging people to run for safety into the store and a woman driving away in terror.
"Get in here," one caller said to those outside while the shots were still being fired. "Now. Run."
Police said it didn't appear that Liu knew the Wal-Mart employees or that he had a grudge against the company. Court filings indicated Liu was mentally disturbed but gave no further details.
"I was right next to the shopping cart, where they do the shopping carts," one woman on the 911 tapes said, sounding as if she were on the verge of tears. "And I thought I heard firecrackers, so I looked over and there was this guy just shooting people. And I just put it in reverse and took off."
