East Stroudsburg, PA -- Police shot and killed a heavily armed man from Northampton County at Walmart in East Stroudsburg late Saturday night.
State police have identified the man as Andrew Todd, 20, of Mount Bethel. Authorities say he walked into the store with two handguns and a machete around 10 p.m. He then began pointing a gun at customers.
When officers from Stroud Area Regional Police entered Walmart, the man started pointing a gun at them. That's when officers shot at the gunman, hitting him in the chest area.
Todd was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died. No employees or customers were injured in the incident in Monroe County.
"It was chaos," said Chris Torino of Stroudsburg. "We were standing by the garden center and people started screaming. Everyone started running and you heard a gunshot."
Torino was picking up some Christmas gifts for his two children when he saw the man inside. With sweat still dripping down his face, Torino told Newswatch16 just how lucky he was to be able to spend another Christmas with his family.
"It happened so fast," he added. "You don't know what's going to happen."
"This was an isolated incident," said Trooper David Peters. "As we go forward to determine why Walmart, why this individual and why now, I'm sure as we interview people that will come about, but we don't believe there is any threat to the public whatsoever."
Given how close it is to the holidays, shoppers at the Walmart told Newswatch16 they'll be extra cautious when they head to the stores.
"I won't even come here by myself," said Vanessa Canfield of East Stroudsburg. "I always ask my husband to go with me because I'm so scared. Now there's a shooter. I'll never come here alone ever."
The Walmart in East Stroudsburg is expected to reopen sometime Sunday morning. Representatives of Walmart released the following statement:
"We are thankful there were no injuries to customers or our associates. We would like to thank the Stroud Area Regional Police for their quick response. We will continue to fully cooperate with their investigation. We take the safety and security of our stores very seriously so that Walmart remains a safe shopping experience for our customers."
