VIDEO: Knife-wielding man subdued by Walmart shoppers

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - The Richland County Sheriff’s Department responded to reports of a man waving around a pocket knife in the Walmart on Two Notch Road.

According to officials, the incident took place on Wednesday, Jan. 4, around 2 p.m.

Witnesses in the Walmart told deputies the man was waving the pocket knife around and threatening employees and shoppers in the self-checkout area.

Prior to deputies arriving at the scene, individuals in the store tried to calm and subdue the man.

One shopper, veteran Demario Davis was captured on video, knocking the man on top of the head, forcing him to drop the knife.

“Me and my son, we were following behind and he was like once the cops get here, I’m going to start cutting people up. So this one guy was like, aye man, you need to come outside and he put the knife in the guy’s face and started swinging it. Once I saw him swinging it, you know I’m a veteran and we’re trained on stuff like that in basic training for situations like that,” said Davis.

Davis says he kept the man down until Richland County Deputies responded.

“My first instinct was to neutralize the situation so I just casually walked over and waited until I had an opportunity to get him and I got em I guess. I’m a community person, so if I see something in the community that’s not right, with all the violence and things and attacks going on, gun violence you know, you want your people in the community to step up as well. The cops can’t do it all by themselves.”

When deputies did arrive on the scene, RCSD’s Crisis Intervention Team assessed the man and decided to take him to a local hospital for an evaluation.

At the moment no charges have been filed.

Notice a spelling or grammar error in this article? Click or tap here to report it. Please include the article's headline.

Stay up to date with WIS News 10. Get the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store and Stream us on Roku, YouTube, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV.

Copyright 2023 WIS. All rights reserved.