A tragic incident occurred in a Texas PetSmart parking lot where a mother was shot fatally in front of her daughter, allegedly stemming from a dispute over not receiving a thank you for holding a door open.
According to ABC News, on Tuesday at around 1 p.m., Cecilia Simpson, aged 41, was shot multiple times outside the Dallas PetSmart located on the 2500 block of West Sheatland.
An arrest warrant affidavit indicates that Simpson and her 20-year-old daughter were exiting a Five Below store when the suspect, Keona Zachyua Hampton, 22, held the door open for them.
Simpson reportedly became upset when Hampton did not thank her, and an argument followed.
Simpson and her daughter entered their vehicle and drove to the adjacent PetSmart. Hampton, allegedly, followed them towards this store.
Simpson and her daughter then told PetSmart employees that Hampton was following them.
Upon entering the PetSmart, Hampton reportedly had a confrontation with Simpson’s daughter. Although Hampton left initially, she returned a few minutes later and began an argument with Simpson.
“The shooter was saying, ‘Come outside. Let’s handle this outside. Let’s fight outside.’ And the mom and daughter were just telling her to, like, go away,” a witness recounted to FOX 4.
Employees asked the women to leave the store.
After leaving the store, a drink bottle was thrown, allegedly by Hampton, at the vehicle that Simpson and her daughter were attempting to leave in.
Simpson and Hampton began arguing again, which turned into a physical altercation that ended with Hampton allegedly pulling out a handgun and firing three times at Simpson.
After the shooting, video surveillance showed Hampton fleeing the scene in a black, 2005 Ford Five Hundred.
Law enforcement later observed Hampton on her apartment balcony wearing the same attire she had on in the surveillance video, the affidavit stated.
Officers arrested Hampton while conducting a traffic stop around 7:45 p.m. on Trail Glen Drive, according to CBS News.
Hampton is facing murder charges. She remains behind bars at the Dallas County Jail.
Check back for updates.
[Feature Photo via Legacy.com/Cecilia Simpson]
