- Two women — one pregnant — were suspected of shoplifting and one was shot by a Walgreens employee, per police.
- The employee said he used his firearm out of fear for his life after he was maced by one of the women, police said.
A pregnant woman suspected of shoplifting at a Tennessee Walgreens was shot by an employee who confronted her and had to undergo an emergency C-section, local police said.
The incident happened at a Walgreens location in East Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday night, according to a press release from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Mitarious Boyd, 21, alleged that two women — one who was 24 years old and seven months pregnant — stole items from inside the store, according to MNPD. Police said Boyd allegedly spotted the woman placing items in the cart and in a shoulder bag, prompting him to start recording.
Boyd started to film the women and continued to do so as he saw them leave the store without paying for the items, police said in a statement.
"Boyd said as the women began placing items into the trunk of their car, he made his way to the rear side of the vehicle," the press release noted. "He said one of the women pulled a can of mace and began spraying it at him."
This led Boyd to discharge his semi-automatic pistol and begin shooting, police said in a statement. The women left the scene and went to a local hospital after Ferguson was struck multiple times. The press release said that the baby did not suffer gunshot wounds, although it was in "critical but stable" condition.
Officials are now investigating the self-defense claim made by Boyd, who told police he was in fear for his life and did not know if the women had weapons on them, according to police.
Authorities said they took his phone and gun and noted that the probe into this incident would reveal if he would be charged.
A Walgreens spokesperson told Insider in a statement that Boyd is no longer employed at 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. We take this matter seriously and are cooperating with local authorities," the statement said.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.