Walmart shooting Fairfield Township: $5 million bond for Anthony Brown
More updates on this story, including the identification of the deceased victim, are available here.
During a hearing Friday morning, a Butler County judge set the bond for the man accused of fatally shooting a Walmart shopper at $5 million.
Anthony Freeman Brown, 32, of Hamilton was arrested early Friday after police said he killed one person and wounded another as he tried to get away from a Fairfield Township Walmart during a robbery.
Brown's attorney, Clyde Bennett, said the bond amount is unconstitutional.
"It is excessive," Bennett said. "The court's decision on bond will be challenged in the Butler County Court of Common Pleas and if necessary the 12th District Court of Appeals."
A shopper was killed, and a worker was hospitalized after the shooting at the Walmart at 3201 Princeton Road. The shooting occurred just before 8 p.m., according to Fairfield Township Police Captain Doug Lanier.
Brown was taken into custody in the Lowe’s parking lot off Roosevelt Boulevard and Interstate 75 shortly after 4 a.m., Lanier confirmed.
Brown was booked into the Butler County Jail on charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and having weapons under disability, according to Lanier. Additional charges are possible.
'The scariest situation': One dead, another injured after shooting at Ohio Walmart
Officers tracked the suspect by cell phone pings to the Fairfield Inn off Roosevelt Boulevard and Interstate 75 in Middletown, according to Butler County dispatchers.
A SWAT team was in place shortly before 4 a.m. and multiple law enforcement officers were seen going into the hotel.
During a search of the hotel, Brown jumped out of a first-floor window and dropped a handgun as he attempted to run, Lanier said. Police took him into custody after a brief foot chase.
The SWAT team left by 4:40 a.m.
At the time of the shooting, Brown was out on bond in an early robbery case, according to court documents. Prosecutors say in robbed a Hamilton drive-thru at gunpoint in October.
Police said Brown attempted to steal items from the electronics section of the store. A shopper intervened but Brown ran toward the front of the store where another shopper tried to stop him, police said.
Brown then pulled out a handgun and shot and killed that shopper, police said.
An employee who was in the area and tried to help was also struck by a bullet. The employee was taken to UC West Chester for medical treatment and is in serious condition, according to police.
Hamilton police detectives later located the suspect's vehicle and found a passenger in the car. The passenger and other witnesses were interviewed before police tracked the suspect to the hotel.
The case remains under investigation. If you have any information, call Fairfield Township detectives at 513-887-4179 or CrimeStoppers at 513-352-3040
Enquirer media partner Fox19 contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Walmart shooting: Man shoots 2, kills 1 after shoppers try to stop theft, police say
