An Instacart shopper was shot and killed in a grocery store after cops say he got into a “heated conversation” with another shopper, identified as Aaron Kelly.
The shooting, which happened at a Fred Meyer in Washington state, is the latest incident of violence occurring at supermarkets across the country.
Last year, 10 people were killed when a gunman opened fire in a King Soopers store in Boulder, Colorado. In Memphis, an innocent woman was slain in a mass shooting at a Kroger store last September.
And it’s not just shootings. In the age of COVID-19, supermarkets are becoming a focus for the nation’s pent-up frustrations over mask mandates and high prices.
University of Arizona professor Brian Mayer says 50% of grocery store workers fear they will be “verbally accosted” by a customer.
“They could be threatened, yelled at and not necessarily just about the pandemic,” Mayer said. “We see a lot of people saying they’re going to be verbally assaulted because there’s something that’s not on the shelves.”
The accused gunman in the Washington state shooting has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.