UPDATE: The man allegedly shot and killed by police has been identified as Walter R. Echols, 50, of Cypress, Texas.
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For a second time in as many months blood was shed in a metro Walmart parking lot.
This time the victim was a man accused of threatening Olathe police.
“There was a ruckus, people running, people running, chasing, chasing each other,” Graem Murray, a witness, said.
Murray stopped by the store on K-7 near Santa Fe Sunday night to pick some food.
“I stepped one foot inside - pop, pop, pop, pop - or at least that's what I heard, four,” Murray said.
Police said around 10:30 p.m. they encountered a 50-year-old suspect carrying a large blunt object. Officers ordered him to drop it but he refused.
According to investigators, the officers tried less-lethal ways to subdue the man before fatally wounding him.
“I saw Taser leads on the, on the pavement. I just figured that the dude got Tased and taken down. I didn't think he was killed,” Murray said.
Another shopper, Lisa Hoschouer, told 41 Action News by the time she checked out, police had turned shopping carts into a make-shift barrier to cover the man’s body.
“I have seen shoplifters have gotten picked up before but never anything like violent that I'm aware of,” Hoschouer said.
Although sources said police weren’t called immediately prior to the shooting Sunday night officers are familiar with this location.
Olathe police data shows the store at 395 N. K-7 Highway is the top address officers responded to last year—317 times.
It tops the list this year as well. As of August, officers have showed up 263 times.
“Man I lived in New York City for seven years I never experienced violence first hand and last night was the first time,” Murray said.
An extensive investigation is underway.
It took more than 12 hours to process the scene. Detectives were back out Monday afternoon looking for surveillance video.
The officers involved in this shooting are on paid leave as the Johnson County Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Team is handling the case.
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Andres Gutierrez can be reached at andres.gutierrez@kshb.com
