Report of armed man in store brings massive response www.privateofficer.com

Report of armed man in store brings massive response www.privateofficer.com

PALM BEACH FLA. DEC. 22, 2007
Deputies evacuated a Wal-Mart near Lantana about 10 a.m. Tuesday after there were reports of a man inside with a gun, the Sheriff's Office said.About 40 deputies, several toting semi-automatic rifles, searched the aisles of the Wal-Mart, 4545 Hypoluxo Road. The entire plaza was shut for more than an hour. The man was not found.Several Christmas shoppers stood at the far stretches of the parking lot waiting to be let back in.A woman who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal said she was shopping for Christmas decorations but took a detour to the dining section when she saw a man wearing a cap and jacket talking loudly on his cell phone."Don't worry, I have a gun, and I'll take them out with me," he said, according to the woman.She rushed to a cosmetics worker and whispered what she had heard. That drew managers, store security and soon sheriff's deputies.The storewide announcement was, "All customers must leave the store," shopper Gail Jordan, 53, recalled.Jordan had a Nerf football in her hand and had to leave it at the cash register."I saw all the police come in with rifles," she said. "I said, 'I'll be back.'"By 11:30 a.m., the doors were reopening and a new flow of shoppers parked their cars and walked toward the Wal-Mart. Deputies did not find the suspect and a surveillance camera did not reveal a good picture of him, sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. The woman who heard the comment did the right thing, she said."As a citizen, she became concerned for herself and everyone else in the store," Barbera said.The woman said she would have felt horrible if she just left the store, without reporting the man's comments. When many of the shoppers were lining up to go back inside, she headed to her car instead:EMAIL US! WE REALLY WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
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