Back to school brawl leads to woman pulling gun at Novi Walmart

NOVI, Mich. (WJBK) - Shoppers at a Walmart in Novi, Mich. were in for some frightening moments as they witnessed a woman pull out a loaded gun Monday afternoon. Police say the gun was pulled out during a fight over school supplies.

"It was in the back to school section over a notebook," says Novi Police Det. Scott Baetens.

Novi officers say two Farmington Hills women, ages 32 and 46, were inside the Novi Towne Center Walmart, shopping for school supplies. Apparently, so was a 20-year-old South Lyon woman and her mother, 51.

"One girl was going to buy a notebook. There was one left, some pushing resulted," Baetens says. "They began to argue who was the rightful purchaser of that notebook."

Both duos of women were not backing down, as police and witnesses described the two women pulling the younger woman's hair. That mother got shoved out of the way as the three continued to fight. That mother then pulled out a gun.

"She's a valid CPL holder," Baetens says. "She pulled out her firearm and tells them to stop attacking her daughter while pointing the gun at them."

The fight quickly ended as customers were seen running away and police were called.

"It was a senseless act of violence all the way around," Baetens says.

Novi police say they need more witnesses to come forward as they work to get surveillance video from the Walmart to get a closer look at what happened. Police spoke with prosecutors, who hope to determine who the aggressors were and if the woman, in fact, pulled the gun in self defense. Those four women are all facing possible charges.

"A simple assault could be just a local ordinance, a 90-day misdemeanor," Baetens says. "All the way up to felonious assault with a firearm, which is a felony."

Police say the gun was loaded but no round was in the chamber. No one was hurt.

In the end, Baetens says he's unsure who got the notebook.