Inside a Hammond, Ind., Walmart, the gunman walked a couple of aisles from where he fired, set his gun on the floor and sat down.

Dakota Norwood, 21, of Chicago, who worked at the store, was shot and killed inside the Walmart North Supercenter at 1100 5th Ave. on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, Hammond police said. Officers were called at 9:09 a.m. to the store, which sits just across the Indiana state line from Chicago. The suspect is an 18-year-old man investigators believe was a fellow employee.

The two had been talking in a store aisle for a stretch before anything happened, Hammond Police Capt. Steve Kellogg said. “It does appear that they know each other,” Kellogg told CBS News.

From Conversation to Gunfire in an Aisle

That conversation became a verbal argument, and the argument turned physical, according to the preliminary investigation. The man then pulled out a firearm and shot the woman multiple times, police said. She died of her injuries.

The Officer Already Inside the Store

An off-duty Hammond police officer happened to be working private security at the Walmart that morning. He reported the shooting and responded immediately to the gunfire, police said — the first notification the department received about what was unfolding in the aisles.

The gunman made no attempt to leave. He moved a couple of aisles away, placed his gun on the ground, sat down and stayed there until officers reached him, Kellogg said. The officer took him into custody.

No customers were hurt. Investigators do not believe any shoppers were even in the aisle where the shooting happened. Another employee who was in that aisle was not injured.

The Supercenter had opened to customers at 6 a.m., about three hours before the first call to police. It stayed closed for the rest of the day.

In a social media post, the Hammond Police Department said investigators believe the shooting was an isolated incident and that there is no ongoing threat to the public, based on what they knew at the time.

The Mayor Calls It Domestic-Related

Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. told WGN-TV it was a domestic situation. Police said the store was open at the time, with both employees and customers inside.

Walmart addressed the killing in a statement the same day. “We’re heartbroken by what’s happened at our Hammond, IN store,” Walmart said, adding that the company is working closely with authorities as the investigation continues.

The response to the store was large: Hammond police, the Hammond Fire Department and the Lake County Coroner all converged on the Supercenter.

The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified Norwood on Tuesday, Nov. 3. An autopsy found she died of multiple gunshot wounds, and her death was ruled a homicide. No charges had been announced. The Hammond Police Department said its investigation remains ongoing and that more information will be released as it becomes available, and it extended condolences to the victim’s family, friends and coworkers.

Other Recent Walmart Shootings

The Hammond killing is the latest in a string of shootings at Walmart stores across the country.

In Columbia, Mo., one person was shot in the parking lot of the Walmart on Grindstone Parkway on Sunday, Nov. 1, the day before the Hammond shooting. Two Columbia men, ages 25 and 27, were charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action and are being held without bond.

In North Lauderdale, Fla., Bart Diguglielmo, 62, was shot and killed in a Walmart parking lot on June 30 after an argument over a parking space. The woman who shot him stayed at the scene and claimed self-defense, and prosecutors were left to decide whether to file charges.

In Anchorage, Alaska, Julius Reape, 20, was fatally shot near the entrance of a midtown Walmart on Oct. 20, 2025, after a verbal exchange with a man he knew. Police detained a suspect.

In Covington, Ga., Walmart employee Dwayne Eduh, 24, opened fire at the Walmart Supercenter on Salem Road early on April 11, 2025, killing co-worker Khalaf Barksdale, 21, and wounding another man outside the store, deputies said. He then killed co-worker Akeela Clarke, 19, at a nearby home. Eduh shot himself during a standoff with deputies in Aiken County, S.C., and later died.