‘It’s happened in our backyard now’: Witnesses recall terror of Walmart shooting
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Witnesses are speaking out after the shooting at an Aiken Walmart that injured a 13-year-old girl.
The family of Ashton Rickard continued to post updates on Facebook over the weekend, saying she’s finding a way to get some rest Wednesday’s shooting at the Walmart on Whiskey Road.
Christopher Foreman, 32, has been arrested and was denied bond.
Those who saw the shooting are processing their fears.
MORE FROM NEWS 12:
- Community rallies for 13-year-old shot at Aiken Walmart
- flows from Aiken businesses for young shooting victim
One woman was shopping with her husband when a gunshot rang out
Her husband pushed her to safety while he ran Ashton.
Days later, the couple still re each moment of that scary night.
All of a sudden, they heard the gunshot, turning it into a run-for-your-life situation, according to Kari Johnson.
Alan Hadley was another witness.
HOW TO HELP:
- On Thursday afternoon, you can stop by the American Legion Post 26 in Aiken to drop off cards for Ashton starting at 5 p.m. And then Saturday at both Vikki’s Boutique locations, 25% of sales will go to Ashton and her family.
“You always see this stuff in the news happening everywhere else and you really don’t think – not my little hometown, you know, that wouldn’t happen here,” he said.
And when it does, “it kind of changes your perspective,” he said.
“It’s happened in our backyard now,” he said. “I have to worry about: Is it going to happen again?”
That’s a question with no solid answer.
The scary part is the unknown.
“That shot and then seeing that many people running, and then someone saying ‘active shooter,’ like, it was very scary,” Johnson said.
“I didn’t know where the shooter was. I didn’t know if he still had the gun. I didn’t know if he was hiding somewhere or was gonna shoot another person,” she said.
Among many thoughts are the what-ifs.
“I’m still just like, I can’t believe I’m saying this and I still can’t believe I was there. I just that point, that’s when I started crying because it hit me: Usually when we go out, we have at least one of our children with us,” Johnson said. “And it hit me that, that could have very easily been one of them.”
Now she holds her babies closer than the day before
“My son, he was like, ‘God’s got her, Mama. You know that God is going to put her back together,’ and I hope he does.”
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