Walmart parking lot shooting could have some far reaching effects

[Canine]

Here is the video of the actual event. It is truly disturbing. Almost surreal. It is 8 minutes 52 seconds long. The fight started when law enforcement wanted to talk the the family members separately. If you don't want to or can't watch the video, you can read the description.



The way I look at it is Walmart has been nice enough to open their place to travelers for all this time. It's kind of like bonus. I'll take it as long as it is there, but if Walmart closes, then we lose nothing. Back to normal.

I saw in the video that some people are nosy and want to know who is in which vehicle with neighbors trying to be bossy towards others. That will never change. As long as you're not hurting anyone, you shouldn't be harassed, but that's often not how it works.

Another take could be these people are religious nuts and it had nothing to do with how they lived. The media won't portray that, though. Whenever someone scribbles bible verses in indelible ink on their belongings and vehicles, I begin to wonder about how stable those people are. This incident would've happened no matter what.

 

[jonthebru]

Those people were more like animals than Humans. An issue had occurred within the store, police were called, people did not follow the lawful order of the Police knowing full well that something had occurred that they knew was wrong. If they had followed the direction of the Police there probably would have been questioning and even being made to leave but at least the dead man who was on the ground scraping with the cop would be alive today. Their animal response was to immediately push back against a Law Officer. Bad and stupid idea. The Bible must say something about following the direction of authorities, they must have skipped over that part.

 

[LeeRevell]

Always a bad choice to physically resist a cop. It ends either of two ways, arrest or death. Do what the cop says, and let your legal beagle fight him in court later.

 

[patschum]

Story here
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-no...-assault-at-cottonwood-store-injures-officers

There was a stand-off in a Walmart lot in Salem Or.  2 days ago resulting in in a dead bus resident.  Probably not  going to bode well for future camping  there.

 

[roadrunner]

I drove through Cottonwood (AZ) and they have the city ordinance signs that prohibit overnight parking/camping in Walmart now. Plenty of BLM land nearby though. But sadly, this is probably going to become a trend, more restrictive parking ordinances, which will make it harder for urban dwellers and those in the east.

 

[GotSmart]

The Flagstaff AZ WM also had those signs, but it also had the back lot packed with plenty of RV's vans, cars, and semi permanent residents. As long as you did not make a mess or fuss, no problem. There are plenty of other stores.

 

[Optimistic Paranoid]

There is a book called Walmart Atlas that lists all the Walmarts, Walmart Supercenters, and Sam's Clubs in the country.  It tells which ones have fuel, pharmacies, etc.  It DOESN'T list whether overnighting is permitted or not.  Instead, it directs you to it's website, where you can dowload pdfs of the stores where overnighting is NOT permitted.  Currently, over 700 stores, or around 20% of Walmarts.

http://www.walmartatlas.com

Regards
John

 

[Almost There]

There is a book called Walmart Atlas that lists all the Walmarts, Walmart Supercenters, and Sam's Clubs in the country.  It tells which ones have fuel, pharmacies, etc.  It DOESN'T list whether overnighting is permitted or not.  Instead, it directs you to it's website, where you can dowload pdfs of the stores where overnighting is NOT permitted.  Currently, over 700 stores, or around 20% of Walmarts.

http://www.walmartatlas.com

Regards
John

I'd be lost without my W/M Rand with all the stores listed...

I also used the store listing to find the zip code of where I'd be staying so I could find the closest UPS depot for receiving shipments...UPS website wouldn't tell me where the depots were without a zip code to start with...duh!!

Many thanks for the website, I like the listing of 'No you can't stay here'. I've saved the pdf file for when I don't have internet access.

 

[MikeRuth]

I just watched the DC video, WOW! that was a mess.
I have to say that I give a lot of credit to that police department. They showed amazing restraint IMHO in lew of all the fighting going on and especially the double and triple teaming. .
I live in Los Angels and I tell ya that is not how it would have ended here. There would have been more people shot and or dead!

After watching that I again in what I saw and what the Chief described in his analysis anyone else shot would have been justified.
They used all the non lethal options up.

 

[Brian_and_Jesse]

Those people were more like animals than Humans. An issue had occurred within the store, police were called, people did not follow the lawful order of the Police knowing full well that something had occurred that they knew was wrong. If they had followed the direction of the Police there probably would have been questioning and even being made to leave but at least the dead man who was on the ground scraping with the cop would be alive today. Their animal response was to immediately push back against a Law Officer. Bad and stupid idea. The Bible must say something about following the direction of authorities, they must have skipped over that part.

Yes it does, jonthebru; read Romans chapter 13.

Jesse.

 

[gcal]

Pretty sure everyone knows by now. No more overnighting at the Cottonwood AZ Walmart. One family ruined it for thousands of us.

 

[gcal]

I drove through Cottonwood (AZ) and they have the city ordinance signs that prohibit overnight parking/camping in Walmart now. Plenty of BLM land nearby though. But sadly, this is probably going to become a trend, more restrictive parking ordinances, which will make it harder for urban dwellers and those in the east.

They've always had the signs here. They just never enforced them until this bunch made trouble. The mother went into the restroom, doing what, we can only guess, as 2 of her sons stood guard at the entrance so no one else could get in. One of the female employees tried to go in and they pushed her around. The cops were called. You know the rest. 



That Walmart had allowed campers to use their lot for years without a problem. But when their employees were roughed up and their customers endangered by flying bullets, they weren't going to extend that hospitality anymore. Who can blame them? Where homeless people go is not their problem. They offered hospitality. It was abused. The offer was retracted.

 

[Canine]

As a vandweller and past/current user of Walmart facilities, I totally agree with their right to close their lots to anyone except legitimate customers for an xx hour period. (They have private security that drives around and they can easily take your plates and then call LEO to run you off.)

I am very concerned that local store managers or even their corporate officers will take/dictate a proactive (posted no overnight) stance to this issue as things get out of hand in more places. There's some rather "seedy" looking rv's parked in some of the Walmart lots I've camped at, to the point that I wondered how some of them even could safely roll down the road. Maybe that's why they are parked, cause' they can't!

The OP is very correct, this could close off a legitimate source of parking for us. Now, if I had a big newish DP the store manager might let me stay, but of course I don't... Maybe I could get a break if I told them I'd buy groceries or fast food there, one look at me and they'd know it was "no idle threat"!

 

[ZoNiE]

Yeah, we were in CWood a few weeks ago. Signs are up. Friggin Utah religious nutjobs.
Couldn't hurt if you were a "regular" and the staff knew you.
who knows?

 

[GotSmart]

I always tell them the same thing.  I am too tired to drive safely, and will take a nap in the lot.  Tomorrow early I will buy supplies and be on my way.  If they have any complaints, I pull out some tire receipts, and show them I am a customer who spends money at WM.  I like having a nationwide warranty on something as important as tires.  I also remind them I am taking a nap, not moving in.   

WM to me is a resting point during the trip, not a regular campground.  Early morning you can find some great clearance prices on fresh fruit and deli.

 

[Canine]

Well I watched the YouTube videos of the TV news'station's initial report ,then the follow ups, which were not friendly to us campers at all. They interviewed one "witness" with an obviously late model class A, all clean and shiny. Her foreign accent indicated a possible RV rental tourist, but they never commented on that. Then one local lady whose house overlooked the Walmart said she "disliked seeing all those campers" (scum of the earth types) and wanted them "all to leave" (damn Okies anyway). Then a local guy asked, "just who are these people (campers), nobody knows" and the newsie then quoted about the same thing. All in all we look like either religious crazies or no goodniks out to do innocent folks harm.

And now that Walmart is posted. Beginning of the end I'll tell you. Oh, they did interview one obviously older "camper" who "hasen't worked for years" (why the lazy scumbag) and has been camping in the WM lot for days... Great, just great...

 

[Canine]

Why is it about campers? It should be about nutjobs. That altercation would have happened if those nutjobs had lived in a traditional American dwelling. Closing it off to campers won't solve the problem of nutjobs being violent and criminal.

I'm not too concerned about Walmart closing their parking lots. There are lots of places to go especially if you don't have a giant rig(s). My money might go to places other than Walmart, but that's OK.

 

[ZoNiE]

I hate walmart anyway... They ruined too many small businesses and people's livelihoods anyway.

 

[Canine]

When all we are concerned about is price, and not even quality, then we get exactly what we deserve...

 

[GotSmart]

When all we are concerned about is price, and not even quality, then we get exactly what we deserve...

Got a mouse in your pocket?  :huh:

When a quality national brand is sold in a nationwide store, with a warranty that is good at any of them, you would have to have a screw lose to not take advantage of it.  Poking at WalMart, and whining about not being able to use their parking lot for camping is not logical.   :dodgy:

If you look hard enough you will come up with a reason not to buy from every store out there.  

I buy tires from them, and spend the extra money on the warranty and rotation.  I get my tires rotated and balanced once, and I break even.  One road hazard and I am $100 ahead.  Free flat repair?  Worth another $10 each time.  If it is a sidewall nail, free replacement.  

The produce is excellent if you know how to pick it.  The deli foods are always fresh.  If you catch the right sales, you can save a lot of money on national brands.  

I would much rather shop at WINCO, but they have limited locations, and no tires.