A pregnant Tennessee woman, Travonsha Ferguson, is suing Walgreens after being shot seven times by an armed employee who mistakenly thought she was shoplifting.
The incident occurred at a Nashville Walgreens in April 2023, where Ferguson, then 27 weeks pregnant, was followed out by an employee who opened fire and shot the expectant mother several times.
Ferguson was one of two women who were accused of shoplifting cosmetics and makeup from the Walgreens store. She nearly lost her unborn baby in the incident, according to Daily Mail.
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Ferguson, who sustained injuries from being shot seven times by the Walgreens employee, had to undergo an emergency C-section as a result.
Her premature baby was born weighing less than two pounds with a hole in his heart. Ferguson’s attorney, L. Chris Stewart, announced during a press conference on Wednesday that his client is suing Walgreens for damages and negligence.
The lawsuit includes allegations of negligence in allowing an employee to use his own handgun against a suspected shoplifter.
During the announcement, Ferguson, visibly angry, displayed the bullet wounds she sustained during the incident last year.
Her attorney added: “Ms Ferguson did nothing at all to deserve to be shot this many times. A witness even said it sounded like the full clip was emptied.”
Stewart mentioned that Walgreens is supposed to enforce a “no chase” policy for suspected shoplifters. The employee involved was not indicted by a grand jury. The lawsuit states that the employee, Boyd, was terminated from Walgreens due to the incident and his violation of company policies.
Ferguson sustained severe internal and intestinal injuries from the shooting, necessitating the use of a colostomy bag for survival, according to the lawsuit obtained by Daily Mail.
Her 11-month-old baby, Raheem, was born prematurely with a heart defect, which requires a device to be installed to correct it. Her son is at an elevated risk of long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Attorney Stewart claimed that it was not the staff member’s responsibility to endanger shoppers’ lives or use personal firearms. “That is improper. It is putting your lives in danger, patrons lives in danger. That’s not your job,” he said.
“It is the job of Walgreens to make sure they hire proper security and they protect their patrons.”
He further stated that he believes: “The situation of self-defense is one shot, but said it is impossible to shoot seven times with such accuracy if you’ve been maced — which he was not.”
“We believe it was sprayed at him or in the air when they were surprised — as any pregnant mother would do who gets surprised by somebody running up on them screaming slurs.”
Ferguson’s distressed mother Shantanica Ferguson, who held her grandson during the conference, lamented that her daughter did not deserve the ordeal she endured.
“It’s been a long ride and it’s not fair she deserves justice.”
