Two of the victims in the shooting at a Florida Publix supermarket Thursday were identified as a grandmother and her toddler grandson — as shoppers detailed the terrifying moment the gunman opened fire.
Juan Guardia was in the Palm Beach supermarket’s deli section when he heard gunfire and employees screaming near the produce aisle at around 11:30 a.m., according to the Palm Beach Post.
“I heard, ‘They’re shooting!’ A woman Publix worker said, ‘Run! Shooting!'” Guardia told the paper. “I was scared. It’s sad because everything happened fast. Everyone was running. Some employees were crying.”
Customer Ron Glassman said he had just parked in the shopping plaza, and was headed to another store when about 50 customers came running out of the Publix, yelling, “There’s a shooter, there’s a shooter! Don’t go in there!”
“It was pretty chaotic. People were very shaken,” Glassman said.
Detectives on Thursday afternoon were speaking to witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage as they tried to piece together what led up to the attack — which left the boy, who would have turned 2 years old next month, and his grandma dead, Local 10 news reported.
The shooter then committed suicide.
“What we’re doing right now is we’re documenting the scene, we’re trying to determine what led up to the shooting,” Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Teri Barbera said at a press conference.
“We found three deceased: Male, female, child. We believe that it’s possible they know each other.”
Armed sheriff’s deputies wearing helmets and bulletproof vests rushed to the scene as a helicopter hovered above the store, and some customers were kept inside to be interviewed by deputies.
In a statement later in the day Publix said, “Our thoughts are with those who are impacted by this tragedy.”
