HPD

On Wednesday at 6:48 p.m., dispatch received multiple calls of shots being fired inside the Walmart store, 4301 Vine. Officers responded to Walmart for an active shooter situation.

Upon their arrival, people were running from the store. Eye-witnesses identified two suspects as being involved in the shooting incident. Officers quickly apprehended the suspects without incident. The suspects have been identified as Linda J. Lipe, 45, and Phillip L. Lipe, 68, both from Norcatur.

Walmart was closed while the scene was processed and the building was searched. Law enforcement officers from the Hays Police Department, Ellis County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Hays State University Police Department, the Kansas Highway Patrol, and the Kansas Bureau of Investigations assisted with the incident.

The investigation has determined there was only one bullet discharged from a pistol owned by the Lipes, and that the gun went off after it was accidentally dropped on the floor. The discharged bullet did not injure anyone.

Phillip and Linda Lipe were arrested on the following charges: criminal use of a weapon, endangerment, unlawful discharge of a firearm within city limits, interference with a law enforcement officer, possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. They were booked into the Ellis County Jail and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.