The incident, which happened June 17, is clearly captured by the Midwest City, Okla., Walmart’s cameras. A man, later identified as suspect Sammie Wallace, walks right up and grabs the little girl from the shopping cart as her older sister watches and her mother shops nearby.
Wallace kept hold of the girl and held a knife to her throat at one point as the girl’s mother, Alicia Keating, begged him to let the girl go.
The video, which an ABC reporter warned “might be hard to watch,” shows the local police talking to Wallace and even offering him a chair in an apparent attempt to diffuse the situation. But their negotiations failed and ABC News reported the police said Wallace was uncooperative and began a 60-second countdown.
Midwest City Police’s Capt. David Huff, whom KOKO 5 News reported had more than 20 years of police experience, came in close to Wallace and the child as the suspect began a 60-second countdown. He purportedly shot Wallace before the countdown could end.
KOKO TV filmed Police Chief Brandon Clabes explaining what happened in the recently released video, identifying Huff’s actions throughout the 30-minute standoff. KOKO reporter Rob Hughes said Huff went around a corner to make sure he had a bullet in the chamber and then approached Wallace, who was coming to the end of his countdown.
Clabes said on the KOKO video that Huff gathered with other police officers for a prayer, including asking for prayers for the suspect’s family.
Huff is a hero, Clabes said in the interview. The officer has been cleared for the shooting by the district attorney, KOKO reported.
