Air guns, similar to the model John Crawford III picked up from a store shelf that set off the chain of events leading to his and another shopper's deaths, temporarily have been pulled from the shelves at the Beavercreek Walmart.
On Aug.5, Crawford walked down a sporting goods aisle, grabbed an unboxed Crosman MK-177 (.177 caliber) BB/pellet gun and proceeded to walk throughout Walmart. Crawford was unaware that carrying the air rifle had alarmed a shopper, who believed it was real, that Crawford was loading it and was going to shoot it. The customer, Ronald Ritchie, called 911 which prompted police to enter the store and who shot and killed Crawford.
Beavercreek police Officer Sean C. Williams assumed he was dealing with an active shooter and believed Crawford was holding a real, high-powered rifle, according to his written report released Friday by the city.
"He was holding a rifle. I quickly identified that the male was holding a rifle and I could see the silhouette of the magazine seated in the weapon," Williams wrote.
Two Beavercreek Walmart store employees told a Dayton Daily News reporter on Friday the air guns were no longer carried at the 3360 Pentagon Blvd. location. One of the employees said the change could be temporary.
There was no indication whether the removal of the air guns was a response to the Aug 5 events. Calls and emails to Walmart headquarters requesting comment were not returned Friday.
Surveillance video from the police investigation showed Crawford as he picked up the Crosman MK-177 as it laid on a shelf and outside its box.
A number of BB and pellet guns, including those that mimic the appearance of automatic rifles, remained on shelves Friday at Walmart stores in Moraine and Butler Twp., following a check by reporters. Security straps, which prevent boxes from being opened, were seen around the packaging of the higher-powered BB-pellet guns.
Following Crawford's shooting, a Walmart spokesman said no immediate changes were planned for either the sale or display of realistic-looking air guns.
Mark Piepmeier, the special prosecutor in the Greene County case, said Walmart officials went to lengths to ensure a thorough investigation was conducted by Ohio's Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
"Walmart has been very cooperative through this whole thing," said Piepmeier during a news conference Wednesday.
He noted the company allowed prosecutors and detectives to use the store on Sept. 3 to reconstruct events of the shooting. The reconstruction included firing the same gun Williams fired twice at Crawford. Walmart officials also provided authorities with video from its 203 surveillance cameras.
A special grand jury concluded this week that Williams, who killed Crawford, would face no criminal charges.
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