WESTFIELD – Westfield Police continue to investigate a report of possible gunfire at Walmart Dec. 7, however, there appears to be no evidence to support the claim of a gun at the scene.
At approximately 6:20 p.m. Saturday, police received multiple calls of a disturbance between two Hispanic men at the store. According to a statement issued that night by Lt. Eric Hall, “there was alleged to be a knife and possibly a handgun involved with reports of one shot fired in the parking lot, however no rounds have been recovered.”
A man at the scene said he pulled into the Walmart parking lot and saw numerous police cars and the store had been evacuated. He said a woman at the bus stop told him she heard the gunshot.
The incident began inside the store and continued in the parking lot where witnesses saw a knife drawn by one of the men. Both parties fled before police arrived. Police report that Walmart was on lock-down during the disturbance.
As of Dec. 9, investigating detectives had found no evidence that a gun was used, and no witness saw a gun. Witnesses did report hearing a “pop” while the men were fighting in the parking lot, which quickly dispersed a crowd that had formed around the men, who were both accompanied by females.
Hall said police are still investigating the incident and are not releasing the names of the involved parties at this time. West Springfield and Holyoke Police are assisting in the investigation and arrests are expected.
