An Alabama father was allegedly shot and killed by an angry Walmart shopper after a minor shopping cart bump spiraled into a deadly confrontation.
Stephen Morrow was shopping at a Walmart in Sumiton with his wife, Kayla Morrow, when he accidentally bumped into a teen with his cart, according to court documents obtained by local ABC affiliate WBMA.
The small incident reportedly sparked a verbal altercation involving 18-year-old Timothy Braden Crawford.
Morrow called Sumiton police but continued shopping with his wife afterward. Investigators said Crawford was not taken into custody at the store.
Authorities allege Crawford then followed the couple outside.
The confrontation later continued in a nearby parking lot, where Crawford allegedly shot Morrow.
As he lay bleeding, Morrow reportedly delivered a heartbreaking final message to his wife.
“Kayla, I’m dying and I love you,” he told her, according to a Facebook post she later shared.
“Every time I close my eyes all I can see is the scene happening,” Kayla wrote.
After the shooting, Crawford allegedly fled in his truck. Investigators tracked the vehicle to his parents’ home, where he was arrested after his parents called police so he could turn himself in.
“Following the investigation, an arrest has been made and … Crawford has been charged with murder,” the Sumiton Police Department said on Facebook.
Authorities said Crawford initially claimed the shooting was self-defense, alleging Morrow tried to run him off the road with his vehicle.
But investigators said video evidence contradicted that claim. Crawford also allegedly admitted to following Morrow after the Walmart shopping cart incident.
In court last week, Crawford’s defense attorney claimed Morrow broke the passenger-side window of Crawford’s truck and tried to get inside.
Crawford’s parents testified that he has dyslexia and is on the autism spectrum, which they said has left him without the same mental maturity as many people his age, according to WBMA.
Prosecutors pushed back by arguing Crawford was a danger to the community as they laid out the allegations against him.
Crawford was being held in Walker County on a $250,000 bond.
