A lot of weird things can happen at Walmart, but a Walmart incident in Florida is the current running champion for the most bizarre event of the month after a man accidentally shot himself while shopping. The Florida man is thankfully alive despite the lethal nature of his accident, though what he unintentionally left some traumatized Walmart customers scratching their heads.
The incident took place back on May 10 in Northeast Miami-Dade County. Some weekend shoppers were minding their own business in the 163rd Street branch of Walmart when all of a sudden, they heard a loud gunshot, after which they immediately ducked and scrambled for cover. Several police officers were even called to the scene. One whole section of Walmart even had to be closed off.
Of course, it was no terror attack or robbery, as the police merely saw a man with a gunshot wound from his own gun. One of the customers, named Myra, recalled that the man accidentally dropped his gun, and then it went off, consequently hitting its owner.
“The guy dropped the gun, and then ‘boom.’ It’s not the weirdest thing to happen in a Walmart. It’s honestly kind of expected,” according to Myra, one of the aforementioned customers on the crime scene, thanks to WSVN for the transcript.
Paramedics were also promptly called to the scene, along with the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, who quickly transported the unnamed man to the nearest hospital. Thankfully, they estimate that the patient is going to be fine despite the injury, though they also didn’t mention which body part the man accidentally shot himself.
Sadly, for the customers of the particular Walmart branch, the whole store had to be closed off for the rest of Saturday, though it opened back up the following day. No one else was injured from the accidental gunfire.
The Luckiest Unlucky Man Ever?
A gun going off in an enclosed public area full of people could’ve gone wrong (or wronger) in so many ways. Luckily for everyone else– and even for the victim/owner, he was the only casualty of the misfire. That’s a lot of lawsuits and migraines dodged, though not exactly an ideal narrative for defending the right to bear arms.
For Florida in particular, the gun death rate actually increased by an alarming 18 percent from 2013 to 2022. Firearms were even the second leading cause of death among children in the state. Of course, there’s also the questionable act of bringing a gun while shopping at Walmart, though it appears customer Myra above somewhat represents how much the general population of Florida is used to the notion.
That still didn’t prevent certain people online from pointing out the absurdity of the situation and throwing out some criticisms.
“Carrying hot in a manner that you would drop it…take this man’s guns away from him permanently,” suggests Redditor enwongeegeefor
“Really the only plus side to everyone in florida having a gun, statistically a few are bound to shoot themselves,” jokes Redditor Surfbud69
“Better question is who keeps giving butterfingers guns? Been a gun owner for 30+ years. Never dropped one,” claims Redditor MathematicianNo6402
