Nashville Police Decline to Arrest Worker Who Shot Pregnant Woman 8 Times After Suspecting Her of Shoplifting
Travonsha Ferguson, 24, and her baby that doctors prematurely delivered at 7 months, are both in critical but stable condition, said a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department
A Walgreens employee shot a pregnant woman he suspected of shoplifting 8 times.
Travonsha Ferguson, 24, and her baby that doctors prematurely delivered at 7 months, are both in critical but stable condition, said a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD).
The police spokesperson also revealed that the MNPD declined to arrest the man who shot Ferguson, 21-year-old Mitarius Boyd.
Boyd provided police with his gun and phone, and now police say they will let the district attorney decide if Boyd should be charged after handing over the details of their investigation.
The MNPD detailed Boyd's version of events in a release put out shortly after the incident.
Boyd told officers that he acted in self-defense when he opened fire on Ferguson, a claim that is being investigated by members of the homicide unit.
MNPD spoke with Boyd, who claimed that he was "notified by another employee that two females were stealing items from the store."
He told police that he then witnessed "the women placing items into a store cart and into a large over-the-shoulder bag."
Boyd told police that he started recording the women on his phone, and "followed them as they exited the store without paying for the merchandise."
He alleged that the woman started to put the items in the car, and claimed that when he approached the rear of the vehicle, "one of the women pulled a can of mace and began spraying it at him."
Boyd then pulled out a semi-automatic pistol and began shooting at Ferguson, according to MNPD.
He told police he "was in fear and didn’t know if they were armed."
Police note in the release that the two women fled the gunman and got Ferguson to a hospital while Boyd called 911.
A spokesperson for Walgreens told Inside Edition Digital that Boyd is no longer employed by the company.
“The safety of our patients, customers and team members is our top priority, and violence of any kind will not be tolerated at our stores,” Walgreens said in a statement. “We take this matter seriously and are cooperating with local authorities.”
In an earlier, unrelated incident, police arrested Boyd back in October and charged him with criminal trespass and disorderly conduct, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Inside Edition Digital.
Boyd became loud and angry at a Best Buy after learning the store did not have a PlayStation5 in stock. He then refused to leave the store even after police were called to try and diffuse the situation.
Officers then informed him he could leave the store or be arrested according to the warrant, then arrested him.
Prosecutors retired that case in January, court records show.