A Walmart customer, including a veteran, was captured on video subduing a man waving around a knife and threatening others at the South Carolina store.
The incident occurred on Jan. 4 at a Walmart store in Columbia, according to local news station WIS-TV. An employee captured video footage of a man shouting and swearing inside a store while brandishing a knife.
“I was at the self-checkout where I work, and the customer came in and demanded $20,” the employee explained to Storyful. “I saw he had a knife after him yelling demanding $20. I said ‘Oh, he has a knife’ to one of my managers who tried to confront him.”
A second shopper, later identified as veteran Demario Davis, is captured on video striking the man in the red hoodie with the pole used for the checkout line. After the man fell to the ground, another witness appeared to take the knife from him.
Later, the man is seen struggling with Richland County Sheriff’s Department deputies before being handcuffed.
“I was at the checkout when my son noticed the guy walk in with the knife open,” Davis said, adding that the suspect then walked to the service desk waving the knife at female employees, who fled.
“I then asked a female employee, ‘where is security?’ And she stated she was security,” recalled Davis. “As I’m walking towards the area where the gentleman waving the knife is terrorizing other customers and employees, he yelled out when the cops get here I’m going to start cutting you all up.”
According to Davis, another customer attempted to subdue the man waving the knife, “but the guy tried to cut him in the face.”
“That’s when my military training kicked in, and I casually walked over to the object not only to take him down but also protect myself in case I failed, but with my great military training I was able to neutralize the threat until law enforcement arrived,” said Davis.
“I’m a community person, so if I see something in the community that’s not right, with all the violence and things and attacks going on, gun violence you know, you want your people in the community to step up as well,” added Davis. “The cops can’t do it all by themselves.”
A Crisis Intervention Team from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department assessed the man at the Walmart store and decided to take him to a local hospital for evaluation, according to WIS-TV.
According to the station, no charges were immediately filed.