On January 23, 2024, at about 6 p.m., 29-year-old Colten Valdez was shot in the chest and later pronounced dead after a confrontation in the Walmart parking lot at 4500 Fayetteville Road in Garner, North Carolina. The dispute began when Valdez intervened as his mother was being verbally harassed while backing out of a parking space. Valdez reportedly brandished a BB gun that closely resembled a real firearm. The other individual produced a handgun and fatally shot Valdez; that person stayed at the scene and cooperated with police.

After investigators consulted with the Wake County District Attorney’s Office, authorities concluded the shooter reasonably perceived a threat and believed the BB gun to be a real firearm, so no charges were filed. Valdez’s family has expressed deep grief and frustration with that decision and raised questions about aspects of the probe, including surveillance footage quality. A GoFundMe was created to help cover funeral expenses; services were held in Raleigh through City of Oaks Funeral Home and Cremation.

What did anyone who was in that Walmart parking lot that evening see or hear that could clarify how the confrontation escalated?