Police: Man tries to run over girlfriend, plows through San Angelo, Texas Walmart
SAN ANGELO, Texas — The San Angelo Police Department said that a man was trying to run over his girlfriend when he plowed through a San Angelo Walmart in his pickup truck early on Thursday morning.
According to authorities, Caleb Wilson, 19, of Eldorado, was shopping at the store on Sherwood Way in San Angelo at around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday when he got into a fight with his girlfriend.
A customer intervened in the fight and convinced the woman to go back inside of the store.
When Wilson's girlfriend and customer checked to see if Wilson had left the scene, authorities said that Wilson sped towards them.
Wilson's girlfriend and the customer jumped out of the way as Wilson’s truck barreled into the store with his red Dodge Ram 2500, plowing over shelves and displays on his way to the back of the store.
Mindy Ralston and Ty Matlock were inside of the Walmart at the time that Wilson was driving his truck through the store.
"It didn't make any sense," Matlock said of Thursday morning's incident.
"The screams that I was hearing were people who were like, 'You need to stop. Back up. Go away. Get out of the way.' Things like that," Matlock said. "I had no doubt in my mind that he was gunning for people."
While inside of the store, both said that Walmart employees were encouraging those inside of the store to leave the store out of the nearest emergency exit or find cover.
Matlock remembers a Walmart employee yelling at shoppers.
"Run, run, run. Move, move, move," Matlock said. "Get out of the way, get out of the way."
After several minutes, Wilson drove out of the store as authorities arrived on the scene.
Authorities said that Wilson drove through the parking lot and smashed into an unoccupied Toyota Camry before stopping at a Murphy USA gas station, where he was arrested.
Police officers noticed “a large amount of fuel leaking from the truck’s heavily damaged undercarriage,” the San Angelo Police Department said in a news release, which forced police officers to activate the fuel pumps’ emergency shutoff switches.
Wilson started showing signs of “excited delirium” and was taken to the hospital, where he became combative with hospital staff.
"From his behavior and everything involved in this incident, it's clear the suspect was under the influence of an unknown intoxicant," Officer Tracy Gonzalez of the San Angelo Police Department said.
Police said that Wilson caused an estimated $500,000 in damage, but amazingly, no one was injured during his rampage.
Wilson is charged with criminal mischief and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Wilson remains under medical care at this time.
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San Angelo police are trying to figure out why a man drove into the Walmart on Sherwood Way.
Police told San Angelo LIVE! that the man – whose name has not been released – drove his pickup through the front doors, past the bakery and produce sections, to the rear of the store near the cereal aisle.
Then he turned around and drove out.
“Luckily no one was near that area inside the store,” Detective Richard Cercone tols San Angelo LIVE!
Amy Claflin was shopping at Walmart when it happened.
“Anybody who knows me, knows I'm a night owl,” said Claflin on Facebook. “So, I was just at Wal-Mart on Sherwood and a a man drove his red truck thru the bakery section and into the store.”
Claflin said this was no accident.
“He burned his tires for several minutes as the customers and employees tried to escape,” Claflin said. “Whew! My blood pressure is topping out about now!”
The driver is the only one who was injured. He was taken to Shannon Medical Center. As of 9 a.m. Thursday, he has not been booked into the Tom Green County Jail.