Kroger Shooting Leaves One Dead, 14 Injured

One person is dead, and 14 others suffered injuries as a result of a shooting at a Kroger grocery store in Collierville, Tennessee Thursday morning where the gunman also took his own life, Collierville officials said Friday morning.  

Authorities have identified the preparator as 29-year-old UK Thang, who worked for Kroger as a third-party vendor. They believe Thang decided to take his own life when he started to hear sirens closing in on the store, as he was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the rear of the store. 

For Kroger, this was the second mass shooting to occur at one of their company stores across the United States in 2021. Previously in March, a gunman opened fire at a King Sooper’s store in Boulder, Colo. killing 10 people. 

The motive for Thang’s actions remains unclear currently. Authorities say the shooting began at about 1:30 p.m. CDT and that police were immediately on the scene less than five minutes later. One witness alerted an officer of the event right away in what Collierville Police Department Chief Dale Lane described as the “most horrific event that’s occurred in Collierville history.” 

Lane revealed in Friday’s press conference that 70-year-old Oliva King died from the wounds suffered in the shooting and that 10 of the injured victims were Kroger employees while King was among the five customers shot during the attack. 

King is a widowed mother of three who her family identified as the victim that was both shot and killed. They believe she had gone to church that morning before going shopping at the store. 

“Our family is devastated by this senseless act of violence. We ask that you pray for the repose of the soul of our mother, Olivia,” one of her sons, Wes King, said in a statement. “We also ask everyone for their prayers for all families and friends affected by the events today, as well as for God’s mercy on the shooter and his family. Thank you.” 

Lane released the following statement from the Collierville Police Department: 

“This is a horrible day in Collierville,” said Lane. “Our hearts go out to the victims, families, and friends involved in the senseless tragedy. Please keep our community in your thoughts and prayers. “At this time, there are no known threats to the Collierville community and our department is working diligently to prevent further violence.” 

The Collierville Police Department believes initiatives taken by those in the store, and the quick response from first responders helped to prevent further deaths and injuries from occurring.  

“This is a terrible tragedy, but there are so many things that did go well yesterday that prevented additional loss of life,” Lane said. “As [officials] entered that building, it was very obvious that the employees and even the customers knew what to do. It was run, hide and fight. They secured themselves.”  

Lane says officers removed people who were hiding in freezers, closets, and pallets of groceries, and that hiding was the right thing for people to do until officers could enter the store and secure the premises. Lane also said there was no delay in getting medical attention to those who needed it.  

“I’ve been doing this for 34 years, and this is the first time in my career that I have seen firemen wearing ballistic helmets and vests,” Lane said.   

Thang has been confirmed as the lone gunman in this shooting, and before this event had possessed a criminal record that included misdemeanor arrests but none of those arrests have prior connections to violence, according to Lane. Officers declined to reveal Thang’s name during the press conference, but later released it to the media. 

Eight of the 15 injured victims received admission to Regional One Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. where three patients had to go into emergency surgery. Regional One is where King was sent to as medical officials tried to save her life. 

Regional One officials believe their response to the situation and assistance they received from other hospitals nearby helped to preserve the lives of those wounded at the shooting. The dispatching of eight different helicopters to the Kroger occurred, but no victims received airlifting because of the swift response from ambulance services on the scene. 

“The key is to get the patient here as quickly as possible,” Dr. Peter Fischer said. “The ground ambulances were there. They did exactly what they were supposed to do which is grab the patients and move.” 

The hospital enacted its disaster plan because of this shooting, according to Chief of Trauma Dr. Andy Kerwin. This plan had been in the works for the previous five years but started to fall secondary once an influx of patients arrived at the hospital infected with COVID-19. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Martin Croce credited local hospitals for their flexibility when it came to taking in COVID-19 patients so that Regional One could properly accommodate these victims.