The gunman who opened fire inside a Hammond Walmart never tried to run, instead setting his weapon on the floor a couple of aisles away and sitting down until officers reached him.
Dorian Kevon Robertson, 22, of Joliet, Ill., whom police later identified as the shooter, has since been charged with murder in the killing of store employee Dakota Norwood, 21, of Chicago, who was shot inside the Walmart North Supercenter at 1100 5th Ave. in Hammond, Ind., on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, Hammond police said. Robertson is in custody at Lake County Jail.
The two stood talking in a store aisle for a stretch before anything happened, Hammond Police Capt. Steve Kellogg said. The preliminary investigation found that the conversation turned into a verbal argument and then became physical. The man then pulled out a firearm and shot the woman multiple times, police said. She died of her injuries.
He Set the Gun Down
The gunman made no attempt to leave the Supercenter, Kellogg said. He moved a couple of aisles from where he fired, placed the gun on the ground, sat down and stayed there until officers got to him. The officer took him into custody.
The Off-Duty Officer Who Called It In
An off-duty Hammond police officer was working private security at the Walmart that morning. That officer reported the shooting and responded immediately to the gunfire, police said, and the department’s first notification came from him. Officers were called to the store at 9:09 a.m.
No customers were hurt. Investigators believe no shoppers were even in the aisle where the shooting happened, and another employee who was in that aisle was not injured. Police said the store was open at the time, with both employees and customers inside. The Supercenter had opened to customers at 6 a.m., about three hours before the first call to police.
Hammond police, the Hammond Fire Department and the Lake County Coroner all responded to the Supercenter, and the store closed for the rest of the day. The Hammond Police Department said in a social media post that the shooting was believed to be an isolated incident with no ongoing threat to the public, based on what the department knew at the time. Walmart said in a statement the same day, “We’re heartbroken by what’s happened at our Hammond, IN store,” adding that the company is working closely with authorities as the investigation continues.
What the Autopsy Found
The Lake County Coroner’s Office identified Norwood on Tuesday, Nov. 3. An autopsy found she died of multiple gunshot wounds, and the coroner ruled the death a homicide.
Police said Robertson and Norwood knew each other and were in a relationship. “It does appear that they know each other,” Kellogg told CBS News. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. told WGN-TV the shooting was a domestic situation. The exact nature and length of the relationship remains under investigation.
The Hammond Police Department said the investigation is ongoing and that it will release more information as it becomes available. The department also offered condolences to the victim’s family, friends and coworkers.
A String of Shootings Across the Country
The Hammond killing is the latest in a string of shootings at Walmart stores around the country.
A woman shot and killed Bart Diguglielmo, 62, in a Walmart parking lot in North Lauderdale, Fla., on June 30 after an argument over a parking space. She stayed at the scene and claimed self-defense, leaving prosecutors to decide whether to file charges.
Julius Reape, 20, was fatally shot near the entrance of a midtown Walmart in Anchorage, Alaska, on Oct. 20, 2025, after a verbal exchange with a man he knew. Police detained a suspect.
Walmart employee Dwayne Eduh, 24, opened fire at the Walmart Supercenter on Salem Road in Covington, Ga., early on April 11, 2025, deputies said. He killed co-worker Khalaf Barksdale, 21, and wounded another man outside the store, then killed co-worker Akeela Clarke, 19, at a nearby home. Eduh shot himself during a standoff with deputies in Aiken County, S.C., and later died.