The dramatic video below was shot on January 4, 2023, by an employee at a Walmart in Columbia, South Carolina. It shows a man in red waving a large knife around, and demanding money.
“I was at the self-checkout where I work, and the customer came in and demanded $20,” said the employee to Storyful. “I saw he had a knife after him yelling demanding $20. I said ‘Oh, he has a knife’ to one of my managers who tried to confront him.”
The armed man, who was apparently in the midst of a potentially lethal mental health crisis, tried to cut the manager in the face. The attacker then waved the knife at several female employees, who prudently ran.
Luckily, a US military veteran named Demario Davis witnessed what was transpiring, and moved swiftly and effectively into action.
“I was at the checkout when my son noticed the guy walk in with the knife open,” said Davis to FOX News. “I then asked a female employee, ‘where is security?’ And she stated she was security. As I’m walking towards the area where the gentleman waving the knife is terrorizing other customers and employees, he yelled out when the cops get here I’m going to start cutting you all up.”
“That’s when my military training kicked in, and I casually walked over to the [stanchion] not only to take him down but also to protect myself in case I failed. But with my great military training, I was able to neutralize the threat until law enforcement arrived.”
Neutralized indeed, as you can see.
“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,” explained Davis. “The cops can’t do it all by themselves.”
The Crisis Intervention Team for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department assessed the attacker on location. He was then taken to a local hospital for an evaluation. Charges are presumably pending.