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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Police were searching for a shooter who wounded two people Wednesday inside a Wal-Mart store in a Phoenix suburb.
Glendale police said two men suffered gunshot wounds and were taken to hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries. Their names weren't immediately released.
Investigators have determined that the shooting wasn't random, police said.
"It appears the suspect and the victims knew each other, but we don't know to what extent," Glendale police spokesman Sgt. Scott Waite said. "It does not appear to be random."
Police were following leads and looking for a man aged 25 to 30 believed to be the shooter and a teenage boy who was with the suspect, Waite said.
"This appears to be an escalation of a personal issue that has nothing to with our store," Wal-Mart officials said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "We will provide law enforcement with any information they need as they look for those responsible."
Police were called to the scene about 11 a.m. and put the store and parking lot on lockdown after finding the two victims.
News video showed one person sitting up in a gurney that was being wheeled from the store to an ambulance.
Police in SWAT team gear entered the store in search of the shooter, but police said it was later determined that the suspect had already left the area in a vehicle.
Some customers inside the Wal-Mart said they heard several shots fired before they ran out of the store.
"I heard loud voices and then something that sounded like gunfire," said Paul Mendez, who told Phoenix TV station KPHO that he was near the store's pharmacy area at the time but didn't see the shooter or the victims.
"I just ran to the garden area and called 911 and told them to hurry up," Mendez added. "It happened so quickly, I don't know if anyone realized what happened. People just headed outside. It was orderly."
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