Two men pulled guns and shot each other to death in a crowded toy store on Friday after the women with them erupted into a bloody brawl, witnesses said. Scared shoppers fled but no one else was hurt.
Witnesses Scott and Joan Barrick said the fight began between two women, each with a man.
One woman suddenly started punching the other woman, who fought back as blood flowed from her nose, Scott Barrick, 41, said.
The man who was with the woman being punched pulled a gun halfway out of his pocket, then shoved it back in, he said.
“He pulled his gun right next to me. I turned to look for my wife, and she was already hiding,” Barrick said.
“I was scared,” said Joan Barrick, 40. “I didn’t want to die today. I really didn’t want to die today, and I think that’s what we were all thinking.”
The other man pulled a gun and pointed it at the first man but forgot to cock it, Scott Barrick said. The first man tried to run but was blocked by the line of people, then ran back toward the store’s electronics section as the other man fired his gun, he said.
The first man reached a dead-end in electronics, turned around and ran toward an exit, pulling his gun and firing back, he said.
“He went up to the cash register, he went to put his hand on the thing and he just went phoomp,” he said, indicating the man fell.
Palm Desert councilman Jim Ferguson said police told him two men with handguns shot and killed each other.
“I think the obvious question everyone has is who takes loaded weapons into a Toys ‘R’ Us?” he said. “I doubt it was the casual holiday shopper.”
Ray Turner, 20, said he was two aisles away when two women began shouting and screaming at each other. Both women had children, he said.
Toys “R” Us issued a statement expressing outrage over the violence.
“We are working closely with local law enforcement officials to determine the specific details of what occurred,” the statement said. “Our understanding is that this act seems to have been the result of a personal dispute between the individuals involved.”
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