Two supermarket staff shot dead in car park

Authorities are trying to determine why a gunman fatally shot two Wal-Mart employees gathering shopping trolleys in the car park of one of the retail stores in suburban Phoenix, USA.

Police said it didn’t appear that the suspect knew the victims or had a vendetta against Wal-Mart.

The gunman also did not appear to have been under the influence of any substance, authorities said.

“We don’t know why he did this. This was barbaric,” said police spokesman Mike Pena.

The shootings occurred yesterday in the middle of the car park, about 75 metres from the store entrance.

Police said Ed Lui, 53, drove into the car park, got out of his car and shot each victim several times with a handgun.

It did not appear he spoke with the victims.

The gunman then drove away but was followed by two witnesses who were able to provide licence plate numbers that police used to track Lui’s car.

Pena said Lui was arrested without incident in a retirement community in nearby Peoria. He was booked on two counts of first-degree murder last night.

The victims were identified as Anthony Spangler, 18, and Patrick Graham, who was initially identified as being 18 or 19 but was probably in his 30s, Pena said today. Both were from Glendale.

Delia Garcia, a Wal-Mart spokeswoman on the scene, said the two young men were collecting shopping trolleys when the gunfire broke out. The store was closed afternoon but was reopened this morning.

“This is an extremely tragic situation,” company spokeswoman Sharon Weber said from Wal-Mart headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Authorities initially kept customers inside the store, but they were later allowed to leave. One woman said the store was filled with screaming people who were trying to get out and “it was just pure chaos”.

The scene of the shooting was about 20 miles north-west of downtown Phoenix.