Walmart Hostage Situation: Man Held Knife to Girl’s Throat in Okla.

A Walmart hostage situation in Oklahoma involving a man holding a toddler at knifepoint was captured on video.
Walmart Hostage Situation: Man Held Knife to Girl’s Throat in Okla.
Jack Phillips
7/1/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

A Walmart hostage situation in Oklahoma involving a man holding a toddler at knifepoint was captured on video.

The suspect, identified as Sammie Wallace, walked up to a woman and grabbed her 2-year-old child from her shopping cart, reported ABC News. The Midwest City, Okla., incident took place on June 17 but video footage surfaced on Monday.

At one point, Wallace held the knife to the girl’s throat as the mother begged him to release her.

Eventually, police were called in, and they pleaded with him to put the girl down. However, police failed to diffuse the situation and Wallace started a 60-second countdown.

Midwest City Police’s Capt. David Huff reportedly shot Wallace before he could end the countdown.

“Obviously, our goal was to talk him down to get him to release the child,” Midwest City Police Chief Brandon Clabes told ABC. “Unfortunately, we weren’t successful but we were successful in saving this child and the fact is that Capt. Huff’s actions were extremely heroic and he waited till the very last moment.”

Wallace died from the gunshot wound.

Chief Brandon Clabes elaborated that “I mean we waited until the last second to use deadly force,” he told NBC affiliate KFOR-TV on Friday. “No one wants to take a life, especially in the line of duty.”

Witnesses said that Wallace appeared mentally unstable, talking about the Illuminati, the purported secret society, and President George W. Bush, according to the New York Daily News.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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