GAINESVILLE, Ga. — Police are still looking for the person who fired shots in a Walmart parking lot, killing an 81-year-old bystander.
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It happened Wednesday night along Shallowford Road in Gainesville.
Police said the shooter was so far from the victim, James McDaniel, he probably had no idea it was coming, Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes reports.
Police said the shooter was at least 130 yards, or a football-field length, away from James McDaniel.
Investigators say he had just shopped at Walmart. His wife said he always shopped for the two of them.
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“We had two horses for awhile, and he loved them,” Gloria McDaniel said.
She pulled out some old photos of her husband James and one of their horses, just two days after she lost her husband of more than 50 years and father to their four children.
“He was a good father, a very good father,” Gloria McDaniel said.
She said accepting that someone shot and killed her husband – after he shopped at Walmart – just sickens her.
“I don’t even understand people who can do something like that, and I’m not sure If they were even trying to kill him or if it was an accident,” Gloria McDaniel said.
Police said they believe he was hit by a stray bullet while he was heading to his car on one of the store’s motor scooters.
Investigators are trying to figure out who fired the shots.
Gloria McDaniel said her family can’t stop talking about how they wish James McDaniel was able to defend himself with the gun the Vietnam War vet always had on him.
Gloria McDaniel said she wonders how she will live without the love of her life when family and friends have to go home.
“The first night, I was by myself a lot, and nobody knew what was going on. And then my kids started coming in. But they’re gonna have to go home, so I don’t know what the rest of my life will be,” she said.
The McDaniel family is counting on police to use whatever evidence they get from the cameras to get the shooter in custody.
Gainesville police said the investigation continues to be active and ongoing, working uninterrupted, 24/7, including local, state and federal agencies working together.
The police chief issued a statement, expressing their heartbreak and determinations to solve the case.
Our hearts are broken for the family and friends of Mr. McDaniel. No words can adequately express the sorrow we feel for them. This gentleman was simply trying to go about his day, provide for his family, and return home to those who loved him. Instead, they are left to pick up the pieces and try to make sense of a senseless act of violence committed by criminals who have no regard for anyone other than themselves.
Our team is committed to working around the clock to identify and arrest everyone involved in this tragic homicide. Our thoughts and prayers remain with Mr. McDaniel’s family and all those who have been deeply affected by this tragedy.
— Gainesville Police Chief Jay Parrish
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