A 21-year-old shoplifting suspect pulled a concealed handgun and tried to shoot a Canton police officer inside a Walmart loss-prevention office on Thursday, Dec. 18, authorities said. The weapon did not fire, and a store employee tackled the suspect as the officer drew down in the tight space around 1:45 p.m. at the Walmart on Atlantic Boulevard NE.
Investigators said the close-quarters struggle was captured on the officer’s body-worn camera and ended with the suspect disarmed and pinned to the floor. The encounter matters because prosecutors have filed attempted murder and felonious assault charges against the man after an arrest that began as a shoplifting stop and escalated within seconds. Officials also charged a companion in the case and noted that the outcome could have been fatal had the gun not malfunctioned and had a Walmart asset-protection associate not intervened when the barrel swung toward the officer’s head.
Police said the incident began when an officer responded to the store for suspected theft involving two people later identified as Shane Newman, 21, of Plain Township, and Katerina Jeffrey, 23, of Canton. Both were escorted to a back office typically used by store security. The officer placed his body camera on a table during the paperwork phase as the suspects sat on a bench. In the video, the room appears calm for several minutes as a Walmart employee hands the officer a pen and forms. Then the mood shifts. Newman stands, turns toward the officer and pulls a handgun from his clothing, raising it at close range. A sharp click is audible, and a second click follows moments later as the gun is raised again. The employee leaps onto Newman, the desk skids and the officer steps back, shouting commands while drawing his sidearm. “He pointed it at my head and pulled the trigger,” the officer says in the recording as reinforcements arrive to help take Newman into custody.
Canton police said Newman was booked on counts including attempted murder, felonious assault on a police officer, robbery, drug possession and having a weapon under disability. Court records note a prior felony that bars him from possessing firearms. Jeffrey was charged with complicity to commit robbery and having weapons under disability for possessing ammunition, according to charging documents. A later evidence inventory listed “approximately 50 blue pills” recovered from Newman, described by investigators as suspected MDMA; lab confirmation is pending. Detectives said the handgun was collected along with the magazine, ammunition and the officer’s paperwork scattered during the struggle. No injuries were reported to the officer, the employee or customers in adjacent areas of the store.
Officials said the officer did not fire because the asset-protection associate was on top of Newman during the first seconds of the struggle, creating a risk of crossfire in a room no wider than a hallway. The associate’s employer praised what it called “brave action” to keep people safe. Canton Police Chief John Gabbard later thanked staff and responding officers, saying the episode underscored the volatility officers can face even during routine retail calls. Investigators did not immediately release the handgun’s make, model or why it failed to discharge after the trigger pulls heard on video. The department said technicians will test the firearm and magazine to document any malfunction or ammunition defect.
The Walmart sits along Atlantic Boulevard NE on the city’s east side, a commercial corridor lined with big-box stores and auto lots. On Thursday, shoppers moved around the sales floor as the confrontation played out behind a closed door in the security office. After the takedown, officers sealed the room with crime-scene tape, photographed the handgun at the bench and swept the hallway to confirm no bystanders were exposed to gunfire. Dispatch audio recorded officers calling for additional units and medics as a precaution. The store remained open, and managers directed customers around a short-lived police presence near the front entrance while evidence work continued in the back.
Body-camera video released by police shows the officer completing routine steps before the gun appears: confirming names, asking basic questions and beginning a search. Investigators said Newman had been patted down but managed to keep the handgun concealed. The sequence will be part of an administrative review that examines search technique, camera placement and whether additional restraints might be used earlier in similar settings. The officer was placed on standard post-incident status and later returned to duty, officials said. The department’s firearms unit will compare the weapon against ballistic databases and test-fire it under controlled conditions to see if a magazine seating issue, a safety setting or a defective primer caused the clicks captured on audio.
By Friday, a judge set Newman’s bond at $1 million and Jeffrey’s at $500,000 in Canton Municipal Court. Their next hearings were scheduled for Dec. 23. Prosecutors indicated they would seek to keep Newman jailed pending indictment, citing the attempted firing at close range and a prior felony. Defense information for either defendant was not listed in initial dockets made public. The pair were booked into the Stark County jail while investigators finalized incident reports, body-camera transcripts and supplemental affidavits. Police said they also gathered surveillance from the hallway outside the office to confirm movement before and after the struggle.
Retail-security rooms are designed to keep suspects away from the sales floor and to contain evidence before police arrive, but they can be cramped and unpredictable once a struggle begins. In Thursday’s case, the body camera set on a table captured a wide, low angle of the room: a bench, a desk, a chair and a door to the hallway. The video shows the Walmart employee reacting first, lunging as the officer clears his holster and backs toward the door for space. The officer can be heard repeating commands not to move as the employee drives Newman against the bench, knocking the gun to the floor where it’s kicked clear. Additional officers enter within seconds and help secure handcuffs as customers continue shopping feet away on the other side of the wall.
Police said they would audit the initial pat-down and review training points about securing weapons from suspects who are seated or partially searched. Administrators will also evaluate whether the body camera’s placement on the table affected the officer’s options in the moment; the angle provided clear video but required the officer to step back to avoid bumping into the desk as the gun came up. The firearm, ammunition and recovered pills were packaged for lab review. Investigators will run fingerprint and DNA swabs on the gun and magazine, and they will pull data from the body camera to build a second-by-second timeline synced to radio traffic.
Walmart’s asset-protection operations coach, identified in an internal statement shared with media, said safety of customers and associates remains a top priority and commended the associate who intervened. Canton’s police chief issued a brief note thanking the public for support and describing the outcome as an example of quick thinking under extreme pressure. Officials said the case will not trigger a force-investigation review because the officer did not fire, but the department will complete an administrative debrief common after near-shootings. The Stark County Prosecutor’s Office will handle felony presentations to a grand jury once lab results and final reports are in.
Newman and Jeffrey were initially detained on suspicion of theft from the store’s merchandise aisles. Police later listed robbery-related counts after reviewing the alleged attempt to use a firearm during the detention. Records showed ammunition recovered from Jeffrey despite restrictions under a legal disability. Detectives said the investigation remains active, with additional counts possible depending on lab findings for the seized pills and a more complete review of the video from multiple angles in and around the office.
On Friday afternoon, customers entering the store passed a quiet front lobby as officers finished collecting the last evidence bags in the back hall. A maintenance worker wiped a scuff from the office door, and a bench sat askew where the struggle had pushed it against the wall. Shoppers lined up at registers as news screens replayed the bodycam clip. A Walmart employee, declining to give a name, shook his head and said he was proud of a co-worker’s quick reaction. Outside, traffic moved steadily along Atlantic Boulevard while a single patrol car rolled through the lot before leaving the scene.
As of Sunday evening, the charges, bonds and scheduled court date were the public milestones. The next step is a Dec. 23 municipal-court appearance that could set the case on a path to the Stark County grand jury. Police said additional video and documents would be released through routine public-records processes once sensitive portions are reviewed and redacted.
Author note: Last updated December 21, 2025.