A Tennessee woman is suing Walgreens after she was shot by a store employee several times last year, which forced her to undergo an emergency C-section and led to lifelong health issues.
On April 12, 2023, Travonsha Ferguson was at a Walgreens store in Nashville with a friend. An employee, identified as Mitarius Boyd in the suit, followed them out of the store claiming they pocketed cosmetics and makeup without paying.
Without identifying himself as a store worker, he “aggressively confronted” 25-year-old Ferguson and her friend and began “cursing and “screaming” at them, the complaint states.
Ferguson, who was seven months pregnant at the time, sprayed Boyd with mace “in fear of imminent bodily harm” to her unborn child and herself.
Then, Boyd pulled out a gun and fired at Ferguson “up to seven times.”
Ferguson was rushed to the hospital in critical condition and underwent an emergency C-section. She and her baby boy Raheem, who is now 11 months old, survived the shooting, but Ferguson sustained internal and intestinal injuries from her gunshot wounds and now must use a colostomy bag.
None of the bullets that struck her hit Raheem, who weighed less than two pounds at the time of his birth. However, he “suffered a life-altering heart defect that will also require ongoing care,” according to the suit, and is also at an increased risk of long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Boyd claimed self-defense in the shooting. He told police he pulled out his semi-automatic pistol and opened fire because he didn’t know if Ferguson or her friend were armed. Walgreens did fire Boyd from his job, but he was never charged with a crime.
“I would believe the situation of self-defense if one shot, but it’s impossible to shoot seven times with such accuracy if you’ve been maced — which he was not,” L. Chris Stewart, Ferguson’s attorney said. “We believe it was sprayed at him or in the air when they were surprised — as any pregnant mother would do who gets surprised by somebody running up on them screaming slurs.”
Court records show Ferguson was charged with assault and theft of $1,000 or less after her encounter with Boyd.
Her mother said she “did not deserve for this to happen to her.”
“It’s been a long ride and it’s not fair she deserves justice,” Shantanica Ferguson said.
Ferguson is suing the company for negligence and damages, including letting an employee use his personal handgun at work on a suspected shoplifter.
Walgreens is reportedly supposed to enforce a no-chase policy when dealing with shoplifters.
“That is improper. It is putting your lives in danger, patrons’ lives in danger. That’s not your job,” Stewart said. “It is the job of Walgreens to make sure they hire proper security and they protect their patrons.”
Walgreens has not released a comment on the pending litigation.
