An 18-year-old Alabama man has been charged with murder after shooting a customer dead in front of the victim’s wife outside a Walmart store on June 3, 2026, following a dispute over an accidentally bumped shopping cart.

Timothy Braden Crawford, 18, now faces murder charges in the death of Stephen Justus Morrow, 46, in Sumiton, Alabama. At a court hearing on June 9, 2026, Assistant Police Chief Chris Lollar testified that he had reviewed surveillance footage from multiple sources and interviewed witnesses about the escalating dispute that left Morrow dead.

The incident unfolded after Morrow accidentally bumped into a teenage friend of Crawford’s with a shopping cart inside the store, triggering a verbal altercation between the two men. After the initial argument, Morrow called 911 from outside the store, and a store worker stayed with Morrow and his wife Kayla inside the store until police could arrive.

Trying to avoid further trouble, the Morrows continued shopping and attempted to exit through a different door, but Crawford followed them out of the store. Morrow placed a second call to police, warning officers that Crawford might follow him home and expressing fear for his personal safety.

Crawford subsequently acknowledged pursuing the Morrows as they departed the retail location, according to testimony presented in court. During questioning, Crawford claimed that Morrow had tried to run him off the road before the shooting, but video evidence allegedly contradicted this claim.

The fatal shooting took place in the parking lot of a nearby restaurant. Court documents filed in the case state that Crawford pursued Morrow after he left the store. According to the defense, Morrow confronted Crawford, shattered Crawford’s passenger-side truck window and put his hand through the opening before Crawford discharged his weapon.

Sumiton police responded to the shooting around 8:59 p.m. on the evening of June 3 at the retail center located at 560 Highway 78. Paramedics transported Morrow to the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries. His body was later sent to the Department of Forensic Sciences in Huntsville.

At the crime scene, investigators recovered a shell casing, two projectiles, a bloody handprint,a bloody towel, and a 9mm handgun from Crawford’s truck as physical evidence.

At the June 9 hearing before Judge Henry Allred, Crawford’s father, Timothy Scott Crawford, testified on his son’s behalf. The elder Crawford stated that his son suffers from dyslexia and falls on the autism spectrum. He described his son as lacking the mental maturity of others his age.

Despite the murder charge, Judge Allred concluded that Timothy Crawford’s case did not satisfy the requirements for denying bail under Aniah’s Law, Alabama’s statute that allows judges to deny bail for defendants charged with certain violent felonies. Judge Allred set bond at $250,000 cash only and imposed strict conditions on Crawford’s release. A preliminary hearing was held June 16.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Kayla Morrow shared her grief on social media. In a Facebook post, she wrote that she did not know how to feel or what to think. She described herself as completely numb, revealing she had been awake for almost 40 hours after the incident. She added that every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was the scene of the shooting happening again. She recalled her last words from her husband, “Kayla, I’m dying and I love you.”

Authorities confirmed they were gathering physical and video evidence and interviewing witnesses in the days following the incident. Sumiton police initially declined to comment on the case immediately after the shooting, later explaining they held off on releasing details to protect their investigation. Police have stated there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The case has drawn attention to the tragic consequences of seemingly minor confrontations escalating into deadly violence. What began as an accidental bump with a shopping cart in a busy retail store ended with a husband and father dead in a parking lot, leaving behind a traumatized widow and a community searching for answers.

Crawford now faces murder charges in connection with Morrow’s death, with the case proceeding through the Walker County court system.