Officials identified the victim and suspect allegedly involved in a fatal shooting inside a Dallas shopping center.
DALLAS — A 41-year-old woman was fatally shot Tuesday by a 22-year-old woman inside a Dallas shopping center off I-20, police say.
Officers responded to a shooting call shortly after 1 p.m. in the 2500 block of West Wheatland Road and determined a woman had been shot multiple times, officials say. Dallas Fire-Rescue responded and took the woman to a Methodist Central Hospital, where she later died, police say.
The victim was later identified as 41-year-old Cecilia Simpson, according to Dallas police. Officers identified the suspect as 22-year-old Keona Hampton, who left the scene before police arrived, officials said.
According to an affidavit obtained by WFAA, cellphone video shows Hampton and Simpson involved in a physical altercation before several gunshots are heard.
A witness told detectives that Simpson was upset at Hampton for “not saying thank you” for holding the door as they exited Five Below. The argument carried over into PetSmart when Simpson told staff that Hampton was following her, the affidavit states.
The argument continued into the parking lot and quickly turned in to a physical altercation.
The affidavit states that after gunshots were heard, a person recording the fight turned the phone away as Hampton is seen quickly walking off, holding a black and silver handgun.
Later that evening, Dallas police conducted a traffic stop of Hampton’s black Ford 500 near Trail Glen Drive in southern Dallas. She was wearing the same brown jacket, pants, and socks seen in surveillance footage from the store, the affidavit states.
Hampton admitted to detectives that she had argued with Simpson and another employee earlier that day, leaving and re-entering the store twice before the confrontation escalated. During the argument, Hampton allegedly threw a drink bottle at Simpson and pulled out a gun after a witness tried to intervene.
According to the affidavit, Hampton told detectives she shot Simpson because she was “just trying to get [Simpson] away from her.”
Hampton was arrested, charged with murder, and remains in the Dallas County Jail, according to jail records.
Police vehicles surrounded the shopping center for hours Tuesday as investigators processed the scene. A vehicle was towed from the parking lot as evidence. The store closed for the remainder of the evening, though customers were allowed to retrieve pets from grooming appointments and pick up online orders.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
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