ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A double amputee shot a Walmart manager Saturday after he was asked to put his service dog on a leash, Anchorage police said.
An off-duty police officer who was shopping at the time detained the suspect as he was trying to leave the store, said Anita Shell, a police spokeswoman.
Daniel Pirtle, 45, was questioned at police headquarters and charged with assault and misconduct involving a weapon. He was jailed and cash only bail was set at $50,000.
The manager, 33-year-old Jason Mahi, underwent surgery. Shell said Saturday night that she didn’t have any details on his condition.
According to police, the man entered the store in a motorized cart at about 3 p.m. and went the sporting goods section. Mahi asked him to the put the dog on a leash or leave. The man then pulled out a gun and shot the manager in the abdomen, police said.
Officers removed the man’s prosthetic legs and put him in the back of a patrol car, the Anchorage Daily News reported. They held his dog in the back of another police cruiser. An officer said she was driving the dog home.
The newspaper reported that the store remained open despite the violence, with many shoppers unaware a shooting occurred. Crumpled police tape sat behind the gun counter in the sporting goods section.
