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A Walmart employee has been charged in the shooting death of two co-workers.
- Walmart employee Martez Abram was charged Tuesday with two counts of murder in the shooting death of two co-workers at a Northern Mississippi Walmart store.
- Abram was suspended from Walmart a "few days" prior to the shooting, a Walmart spokesman said. He was suspended after he allegedly showed a knife to a co-worker, according to authorities.
- Abram was shot twice by a police officer and is recovering in a local hospital.
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Walmart employee Martez Abram was charged Tuesday with two counts of murder in the shooting death of two co-workers at a Northern Mississippi Walmart store, authorities said Tuesday.
Abram, 39, was shot twice by a police officer on Tuesday and is recovering in a local hospital, said John Champion, district attorney for the 17th Circuit Court of Mississippi. The charges against him may be upgraded or expanded as authorities' investigation into the shooting continues, Champion said.
Walmart recently suspended Abram after he allegedly showed a knife to another Walmart employee at work, according to Champion. Abram didn't threaten anyone with the knife, but his co-worker was concerned and called police to file a report, Champion said.
Walmart confirmed to Business Insider that Abram was suspended a "few days" prior to the shooting, and declined to elaborate further.
Abram is accused of shooting and killing two Walmart employees and firing at a police officer, who was saved by his bulletproof vest, at a Southaven, Mississippi Walmart store early Tuesday morning, according to Southaven Police Chief Macon Moore. A fire was set in the baby section of the store around the time of the shooting.
Southaven Mayor Darren Musselwhite described Abram as a "disgruntled" employee who had a "personal grievance with his employer."
Read more: Walmart hunts for woman accused of urinating on produce and says it plans to have her prosecuted
Moore said the victims of the shooting were "senselessly murdered."
"These people were doing the same thing that you and I do every day," he said. "They showed up for work so they could provide for their families and they became the victims of a senseless violent act."
Police started receiving 911 calls at 6:33 a.m. local time Tuesday reporting an active shooter and a fire set inside the Walmart store on 6800 block of Southcrest Parkway.
Officers arrived on the scene three minutes later and found the suspect in the parking lot. There were about 60 Walmart employees inside the building at the time.
Walmart said it is assisting law enforcement with the case.
"The entire Walmart family is heartbroken by the loss of two valued members of our team," Walmart US CEO Greg Foran said in a statement. "We feel tragedies like this personally, and our hearts go out to the families of our two associates and the officer who was injured. We are relieved the suspect was apprehended, and we appreciate the quick response of the local authorities and our associates."
