A Tennessee woman has filed a lawsuit against Walgreens after she was allegedly shot seven times by an employee who assumed she was shoplifting.
The civil complaint which was obtained by @people states that Travonsha Ferguson was shot multiple times when she was seven months pregnant. The incident reportedly occurred on April 12, 2023 and after the shooting Ferguson was rushed to the hospital and had to have an emergency C-section performed to deliver her so who was born with a heart defect and “fought for his life for weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit,” according to the lawsuit.
“Travonsha Ferguson will never fully recover from this shooting and has long-term health issues that she is forced to deal with every day,” her attorney L. Chris Stewart said in a statement. “We intend to hold Walgreens accountable for the egregious actions of their employee who was a team leader at that location. Following someone to the parking lot and shooting them seven times for allegedly shoplifting is outrageous conduct that cannot be tolerated by corporations around the country.”
Walgreens choice to not comment on the matter when the news publication reached out to them but the employee, Mitarius Boyd, is no longer employed at Walgreens following the incident.
The complaint went into detail about what allegedly happened on the day of April 12. Boyd, reportedly followed Ferguson and her friend to the parking lot after he suspected them of shoplifting and “aggressively confronted [Ferguson] and her friend concerning the alleged stolen merchandise while cursing and screaming at them.”
“Boyd continued threatening and aggressively approaching Ms. Ferguson and her friend,” per the complaint. “Once Boyd got near the trunk of their vehicle and continued his aggressive approach, Ms. Ferguson was prompted to spray mace at Boyd in fear of imminent bodily harm to Baby Ferguson and herself.”
Boyd reportedly shot Ferguson seven times and she was also hit with a bullet that was near her stomach.
Boyd’s attorney shared his side of the story during a recent press release. “Boyd said as the women began placing items into the trunk of their car, he made his way to the rear side of the vehicle,” per the police release. “He said one of the women pulled a can of mace and began spraying it at him” and he started shooting, “saying he was in fear and didn’t know if they were armed.”
Ferguson “sustained internal and/or intestinal injuries and, as a medical necessity, must now wear a colostomy bag to survive,” according to the complaint.
Her son is now at “an increased risk of long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities,” per the complaint.