Has been updated: 32 few minutes ago release date: 40 few minutes ago
A man shot and killed a woman in the Dimond Walmart parking lot in Anchorage Sunday night before killing himself, police said two days after the shooting.
Anchorage police earlier said a man and a woman died from their injuries in the parking lot outside a South Anchorage store, and a firearm was recovered at the scene. In a brief update Tuesday, police said 29-year-old Saina Fa’atoafe shot and killed a woman and then killed herself. Police say no one else was involved and her next of kin has been notified of the death.
A Walmart spokesperson said Monday that one of those killed in the shooting was a store employee who was on break at the time. Anchorage police said they would not release the woman’s identity because the shooting is a domestic violence-related crime.
[Previous coverage: Employee on break was one of 2 people killed in shooting outside Anchorage Walmart]
Walmart offers bereavement counseling to its employees, a company spokesperson said.
Some Walmart shoppers said there was a sudden lockdown immediately after Sunday night’s shooting, which prompted evacuations of crowded stores and closed the store overnight. Walmart had reopened as of Monday.
Hours after the shooting, an Anchorage police officer at the scene said police were searching for a suspect. In the days since, police have released little additional information and declined to answer some questions about the incident, with a spokesperson saying on Monday that they believed “all parties involved have been contacted.” He said there were no concerns for public safety.
This is a developing story. Please check the latest information.
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