Witnesses say they were told to run after they say several shots were fired inside the grocery store.
GREENSBORO, N.C. — Many people’s go-to grocery store suddenly became the center of the heinous killing of GPD officer Michale Horan.
A grandmother and her 6-year-old granddaughter were just a few aisles away from where shots were fired inside this Food Lion.
“One of the employees yelled shooting shooting get out get out,” Miller sai.d
Families shopping at Food Lion on Lawndale Drive in Greensboro just days before the Christmas holiday dropped their groceries and ran for their lives.
“I heard a pop pop and a pop pop pop.,” Miller said. “I grabbed my granddaughter and left my cart there and we ran.”
Miller quickly got her 6-year-old granddaughter away from the chaos.
They could not leave so they sat in the parking lot for up to an hour where she said she saw EMTs and nearly 50 police vehicles quickly arrive on the scene.
“I’ve never seen any instances of robberies or anything like that at this Food Lion,” said a Food Lion shopper. “It’s been the safest one for years.”
Erin Schoonmaker works for Food Lion.
We have a very safe family oriented store we don’t experience things like this,” Schoonmaker said.
Schoonmaker said she was told not to come in for her shift.
“This is our lives our livelihood,” Schoonmaker said. “We need to feel safe where we stay at.
Greensboro police said Officer Michael Horan was trying to do just that, protect the public.
According to the State Bureau of Investigation, Horan was the first officer to respond to a call about a man with a gun inside the grocery store.
Investigators said when Horan approached the suspect there was a short scuffle, and then Horan was shot and killed with no time to arm himself.
” I need to be more aware of my surroundings. I could’ve been on that side of the grocery store. 10 minutes earlier I was,” Miller said. “There was a young lady there who was traumatized and she was on the floor shaking.”
The SBI said they were able to catch the suspect in Duplin County after a chase in Johnston County.
“I know it’s hard for the police department trying to serve the community and sometimes the community is not embracing the police,” Miller said. “Something has to change.”
