Carjacking suspects flee into Virginia Walmart before arrest, no active shooting | Fact check

BrieAnna J. Frank, USA TODAY
·2 min read

The claim: There was an active shooter at a Virginia Walmart store on Aug. 7

An Aug. 7 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claimed an emergency situation was underway at a major retailer’s location in northwestern Virginia.

"Active Shooter at Walmart in Front Royal WTH GOING ON WITH PEOPLE," reads the post.

One version of the claim was shared on Facebook nearly 250 times in several hours before it was deleted.

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Our rating: False

Suspects in a carjacked vehicle fled into the Walmart location and were arrested on store property, according to the Warren County Sheriff’s Office. Handguns were recovered at the scene but no shots were fired.

Four suspects arrested in incident, handguns recovered but no shots fired

“There was not an active shooter at our Walmart today,” Warren County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Capt. Robert Mumaw told USA TODAY.

Virginia State Police were pursuing a carjacked vehicle when it entered Warren County and crashed on eastbound Interstate 66, Mumaw said.

Three occupants fled into the Walmart, but one exited the store and attempted to carjack two other people, Mumaw said. A fourth occupant stayed outside of the store.

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All four were eventually taken into custody. No shots were fired, though handguns were recovered at the scene, Mumaw said.

The store was evacuated during the incident, but Walmart spokesperson Joe Pennington told USA TODAY it was open for business as of Monday afternoon.

A carjacking victim suffered a minor injury during the incident, Mumaw said. An investigation is ongoing.

The sheriff’s office posted a similar statement on its Facebook page.

Police tape cordons off the scene of a fatal shooting at a Chesapeake, Va., Walmart Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.
Police tape cordons off the scene of a fatal shooting at a Chesapeake, Va., Walmart Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2022.

There have been fatal mass shootings at Walmart locations in recent years, including in El Paso, Texas, in 2019 and Chesapeake, Virginia, in 2022.

USA TODAY has previously debunked false claims of active shooters at Walmart stores in Tennessee and Illinois.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, there was no active shooter at a VA Walmart on Aug. 7 | Fact check