A customer suspected of potential shoplifting was shot in the head by a police officer while being detained by two other cops and a civilian inside a California Walmart.
Shocking footage from a police camera and video of surveillance of the store captured the moment when Ernesto Paul Aguilar, 30, of Santa Ana, was shot dead.
Aguilar was pressed by two deputies and a civilian while police officers were trying to handcuff him when one of the officers shouted, “He has a gun! He has a gun!” Shoot him! ‘
Another officer raised his pistol and shot Aguilar in the head.
Incredibly, Aguilar survived the shooting and is now recovering in prison. His bail is nearly $ 2.3 million.
The incident began around 10 pm on January 19 in Lake Forest Walmart, when a store security called 911 to announce that Aguilar and a woman he identified as his wife were planning to steal with a “fake” Walmart + receipt.
It is not clear why the detective from the store believed this, as they did not see the receipt and Aguilar was in line at the cash register, holding money when the police arrived.
They say they went to the store to buy their children toys and diapers.
Shocking footage from a police camera and video of surveillance of the store captured the moment when Ernesto Paul Aguilar, a 30-year-old Santa Ana man, was shot dead
Deputy 3 can be seen throwing Aguilar’s gun away from the men and while Deputy 1 pulls out his gun and shoots Aguilar once in the head.
The officers struggled to control Aguilar as he fought them on the ground. It took three deputies and one civilian to get him on the ground
Deputy 1 finds a gun on Aguilar, which is seen as Deputy 3 removes from the man’s body
Ernesto Paul Aguilar, 30, of Santa Ana (pictured) was shot dead by a Wake Forest Walmart on January 19 at around 10pm after being charged with theft and police found a knife and pistol in his possession.
Officers approached the couple at the box office and asked them to leave “peacefully” before one of the deputies said to Aguilar: “Why are you doing this? You’re about 40 and still stealing, dude? Find a job, let’s go.
Aguilar and his wife insisted that they were there to make a legal purchase and had cash. They added that they had never been to this place at Walmart.
The MP told them that they would not be arrested for shoplifting, but would be charged with a violation to prevent them from returning.
As they made their way through the store door, another deputy informed his colleague that Aguilar had “had a knife.”
Aguilar calmly reached for the weapon, which the first deputy told him to “get your fucking hand out of the knife” and “get the devil out of the store.”
He then changed his mind and told Aguilar to put his hand behind his back and began handcuffing him. Aguilar began to fight and shouted at the woman he was with.
Alternates 1 and 3 are seen standing in Walmart after the shooting, while Alternate 2 reports the shooting to the bosses.
“You will be handcuffed because I don’t know if you have other weapons,” Deputy 2 told him. “If you fight, we will fall to the ground.” I promise you right now that you will not win this battle.
Two police officers tried to handcuff Aguilar before hitting him with a display of water bottles.
At that moment, Aguilar began asking clients for “help.”
“Can anybody help me? “I’m not trying to do anything,” he urged. He told police he was “crazy” and managed to break away from the wall, causing police to struggle to control him.
Deputy 2 called for reinforcements on his radio and as Deputy 1 left Aguiar’s wife to help the other two, while a civilian also joined to help.
Deputies managed to bring him down and Aguilar begged the police: “My money, my money, please – I need my money.”
His wife told NBC Los Angeles that he had $ 1,000 in cash with him and “will pay for the items in his cart.”
Shortly after lifting Aguilar to the floor, Deputy 1 discovered that he had a gun.
They press Aguilar in packed bottles of water during the battle, and Aguilar asks customers to “help” him.
A customer suspected of potential theft was shot in the head by a police officer while being detained by two other cops and a civilian in Walmart, California
Aguiar’s wife (surrounded in the upper right corner) runs out the door after Deputy 1 runs back to help the other officers
Deputy 1 frantically started shouting: “He has a gun! He has a gun! Shoot him, shoot him! ‘
A civilian also started shouting, “Shoot him, shoot him, shoot him, shoot him.” He was later heard saying, “Good, good, good,” after Aguilar was shot.
Deputy 1 fired a bullet into Aguilar’s head, which immediately fired. Deputy 2 called on his radio.
A pistol can be seen in Aguilar’s belt, near his knife, in the video, before one of the deputies grabbed it and threw it through the register away from the fight.
Aguilar, who survived the shooting, can be heard saying, “I’m dying” after he was shot. He was taken to hospital and operated on.
He has been charged with several offenses, including assaulting a peacekeeper and possession of a pistol without a serial number.
The shooting is still under investigation, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
Aguilar’s wife said she did not know he had a gun on him and said “carrying a gun at Walmart is like a death sentence.”
“Every time someone calls Ernie to help them, he’s ready to help,” she told NBC Los Angeles. “He bought me toys and diapers for my children.” It is not clear what their relationship is.
When she saw Aguilar struggling on the floor, she took off and got into her car, she said.
“I wasn’t arrested, I didn’t commit a crime, so even if they took my license plate, I didn’t think they would come and take me for something because I didn’t commit a crime,” she told NBC Los Angeles. She was later found at her home and said she did not know that Aguilar had been shot.
“I just thought he was beaten very badly. I thought that’s why he was taken to the hospital. I didn’t know he was shot in the head, “she said.
“I am traumatized. Just thinking about Walmart makes me want to throw up. I will never set foot in Walmart again in my life.