Getty/Facebook Law enforcement respond to the scene of Publix where they say 55-year-old Timothy J. Wall, right, of Royal Palm Beach gunned down a grandmother and her 1-year-old grandson before turning the gun on himself.
Timothy J. Wall was identified as the suspect who police allege shot a woman and a toddler before turning the gun on himself at a Publix grocery store in Royal Palm Beach, Florida.
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office told Local 10 News the child, a boy, would have turned 2 later this month. The woman and child were grandmother and grandson, PBSO said in a statement. The father of the boy was called to identify his son, the news station reported. Law enforcement said they are continuing to investigate whether there was any relationship between Wall, the grandmother and the baby, and searching for a motive in the shooting.
Wall was a 55-year-old Royal Palm Beach man, according to The Palm Beach Post. Officials told the newspaper Wall was found with a handgun beside his body, and officials believe his fatal wound was self-inflicted. Court records indicate his ex-wife filed for divorce in 2017 and that he was granted a bankruptcy discharge April 28, 2021. Court records also indicate he had a 15-year-old daughter. A letter Wall wrote to the court in 2019 paints a picture of his final years, which said he was indigent, out of work and in poor health.
The Sun-Sentinel reported the shooting occurred at 1180 Royal Palm Beach Boulevard in The Crossroads at Royal Palm Beach plaza at about 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. The entire plaza was blocked by police for hours after the shooting, the article said.
Royal Palm Beach is a village about 15 miles west of West Palm Beach and just north of Wellington. This post will be updated as new information becomes available and as additional details are confirmed.
1. Wall’s Wife Filed for Divorce in 2017 But He Continued Living With His Ex-Wife & Daughter; She Filed to Evict Him in 2019
I can confirm this is Timothy J. Wall, the gunman from yesterday’s murder suicide at a Royal Palm Beach Publix. His connection to the grandmother and toddler he killed is still unknown. @WPLGLocal10
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 11, 2021
Wall’s wife filed for divorce in July 2017, court records indicate. However, he continued living with his wife and daughter for at least two years before she filed to evict him from the home in 2019. He also had a daughter living in the Royal Palm Beach home, who is now 15, court records indicate.
A judge ordered on June 27, 2019, that Wall had 30 days to leave the marital home. A judge had previously ordered that Wall pay $500 toward mortgage each month until he moved out of the home.
Wall wrote a letter to the court pleading his case after his ex-wife filed for eviction, saying he should be allowed to stay in the home. He said that he helped out around the house, mowing the lawn, painting, repairing the porch, taking out the garbage, bathing the dog, cleaning and helping their daughter with homework, along with other tasks. He claimed he intended to leave, and would do so as soon as he was able.
Here is the letter:
Palm Beach County Clerk of CourtsA letter Timothy J. Wall wrote to the court asking that he be allowed to remain in his marital home.
Wall wrote that he had been out of work and was indigent.
“I need money to survive and pay my way,” Wall wrote in the letter.
He wrote that he uses public transportation, which he described as “slow” and “exhausting.” He also wrote that he was having health problems.
“The last year my health is not great, racing heart, irregular heartbeat, skipping,” he wrote.
2. Police Said They Are Investigating the Relationship Between Wall, the Grandmother & the Baby Boy But Said So Far There is ‘No Known Relationship’
Welp! I almost made it into publix to get water and BOOM! someone gets blasted in the store with a shotgun???. Hope eveyrone is alive. Glad I don’t live on Loxahatchee, Fl.
— CodeIsLife | $SHIBAliever (@Jcbk101) June 10, 2021
The Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office said in a statement June 10, 2021, there was “no known motive or relationship between the gunman and the victims.” PBSO is continuing its investigation and working to identify what led to the shooting, officials said.
“We’re trying to determine what led up to the shooting.,” said Teri Barbera, spokesperson for PBSO, in a statement to WPBF.
The toddler was the son of a civilian employee with the Sunny Isles police department, according to Local 10 News.
GettyA law enforcement officer stands outside of a Publix supermarket where a woman, child and a man were found shot to death on June 10, 2021 in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Law enforcement officials continue to investigate the crime scene for clues as to why the shooting occurred.
Witnesses told the Sun-Sentinel about the tragedy, saying they were running errands when their shopping trip turned deadly for the little boy and his grandma. Lynn Waterman told newspaper reporters she was checking out at the cash register when she heard the gunfire. She thought it was balloons popping, she told the newspaper. The cashier said there was a shooter, and she started running, she said, according to the article.
I know people are tired of asking for prayers, but Im asking anyway. So I ask for your prayers right now for the families impacted by today’s shooting in my district. No politics today. Just prayers.
— Melissa McKinlay (@VoteMcKinlay) June 10, 2021
“Everybody ran out the store and I stood in the parking lot a while and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Why am I standing out here? He could come out and shoot us’,” Waterman, 61, told the newspaper.
She told the newspaper the store was not busy at the time of the shooting. She realized later she had left $10 on the counter, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
“I’m glad I’m alive, that’s all,” she told the newspaper.
Another witness, Dr. Ron Glassman, told Local 10 News he was close when the shots broke out.
Another sad update: We can confirm the innocent victims were a grandmother and her grandson. Whether or not they knew the man who shot them and then killed himself is unclear. We also know the boy’s father had to come here to the scene to identify his son’s body. @WPLGLocal10
— Ian Margol (@IanMargolWPLG) June 10, 2021
“I was about 100 feet away when I saw everyone running out of the store and yelling, ‘Get back … shots fired,’” Glassman told the news outlet.
Another witness, Juan Guardia, told the news station that a Publix employee shouted there was a shooting and told people to run.
“She said, ‘Run, run. It’s a shooting, shooting run!’” Guardia told the news station, and said he was at the deli area when he heard a gunshot from the produce department. “After that, I got out from the back side, the back gate.”
Elvis Way, who has been a grocery bagger for 13 years, told The Sun-Sentinel he was outside of the grocery store to collect shopping carts when shoppers and other workers began fleeing the store and screaming “Run!” He told the newspaper he hid at a nearby Dollar Tree store, and warned shoppers there of the shooting while crouching on the floor. He later ran outside and hid near law enforcement, he told the newspaper.
Officials described the shooting as a murder-suicide, writing in an early statement that it was “not an active shooter situation.” Police told Local 10 News the shooting occurred near the produce section of the grocery store.
The family has invoked Marsy’s Law, therefore, the names of the victims: 1 yr/old boy & his grandmother will not be released. The gunman’s name will be released after his next of kin has been notified. There is NO known motive or relationship between the gunman and the victims.
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) June 11, 2021
“The family has invoked Marsy’s Law, therefore, the names of the victims: 1 yr/old boy & his grandmother will not be released. The gunman’s name will be released after his next of kin has been notified. There is NO known motive or relationship between the gunman and the victims,” said a statement from PBSO the evening of June 10.
CBS12 News reported in the hours after the shooting that the Publix parking lot was blocked off with crime scene tape and that multiple patrol cars from the sheriff’s office were on the scene.
At least 3 confirmed dead in America’s latest mass shooting. They were killed because they went food shopping. To every Senator who believes protecting the filibuster is more important than protecting the American family, we will replace you.
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) June 10, 2021
“We’re trying to determine what led up to the shooting,” Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Teri Barbera told The Sun-Sentinel. “We responded to a shooting, we found three deceased — male, female, child. We believe that it’s possible they know each other. The gunman is deceased. What led up to this, again, to be determined by our detectives that are here on scene.”
Officials later said there was no known relationship between the gunman and the victims.
“I know people are tired of asking for prayers, but Im asking anyway,” wrote Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay on Twitter. “So I ask for your prayers right now for the families impacted by today’s shooting in my district. No politics today. Just prayers.”
3. Wall Filed for Bankruptcy & He Was Granted Discharge on April 28, 2021
We’re having a news conference at 3:30 pm with an update on yesterday’s triple homicide. Including a timeline and picture of the suspect.
We’ll be going #LIVE
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) June 11, 2021
Bankruptcy filings for Wall indicate he had $215,000 in debts and only $6,000 in assets. Most of his debts were owed to his ex-wife. Their divorce was finalized in 2018, court records show.
In December 2020, the Bank of America filed a claim against Wall in small claims court for $4,092.25, and filed paperwork indicating he failed to make minimum payments.
On January 18, 2021, the small claims court case was dismissed pursuant to a settlement after a hearing, according to a court filing.
On April 16, 2021, the United States Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of Florida granted Wall bankruptcy discharge under chapter 7, according to a court order.
Here is the order:
Palm Beach County Clerk of CourtsTimothy J. Wall was granted Chapter 7 Bankruptcy April 16, 2021.
A Facebook page for Wall includes no public information aside from a profile photo published May 10, 2020.
4. A PBSO Deputy Was in the Area at the Time of the Shooting & a Witness Said Wall Entered Publix With a Gun & Wearing a Trench Coat
Detectives are investigating a shooting that took place INSIDE Publix in RPB. Upon arrival deputies located three individuals deceased from gunshot wounds, one adult male, one adult female and one child. The shooter is one of the deceased. This was NOT an active shooter situation
— PBSO (@PBCountySheriff) June 10, 2021
A sheriff’s deputy with the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office happened to be in the area of Publix when the shooting occurred, Local 10 News reported. The deputy rushed inside, but all three people were already deceased, the news station reported.
Barbera told The Sun-Sentinel the deputy had been at a nearby business.
“We actually had a deputy that was at the dry cleaners down the way,” Barbera told the newspaper. “As soon as he heard the call go out, he immediately entered Publix.”
Tragically, the victims were already dead, she said, according to the newspaper.
Witness Joey Mendoza, 62, of Royal Palm Beach, told the Sun-Sentinel he missed the shooting by minutes. His plans were to buy some sandwiches from the Publix deli, he told the newspaper. As he was pulling into the parking lot, he saw police officers sprinting with their guns drawn, he told reporters.
Two people are dead after a shooting inside a Publix grocery store in Florida, officials say. The shooter is also dead.
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) June 10, 2021
“A couple of minutes later, I would’ve been in there,” he told the newspaper. “That’s what I’m thinking. Two, three minutes later, usually, because I parked right in the front. At that point, I didn’t bother getting out. I saw them running in, I didn’t get out of the vehicle. … They just kept coming. Cruiser after cruiser, ambulance after ambulance, fire truck after fire truck.”
Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay told WPTV she was saddened by the news.
“This one is hard. You don’t like to hear about these things in your district. You don’t like to hear about them anywhere in the country,” McKinlay said.
She later added in a statement to The Palm Beach Post that today is a day of mourning and tomorrow is a day of action.
“Tomorrow we must step up and engage in a very honest conversation about why this happened and what we can do specifically to prevent this violence,” McKinlay said June 10. “Inaction is not an option.”
A witness wrote on Twitter that he was going to Publix to buy water when the gunman, later identified by authorities as Wall, walked into the store and opened fire.
“Hope eveyrone is alive. Glad I don’t live on Loxahatchee, Fl,” the post said in part.
The Twitter user later corrected the original post to say the gun the person had was not a shotgun. He wrote the gunman walked in wearing a trench coat.
“Update: Nit a shotgun, this seems to have been a mass shoting. Mtiple people are assumed dead including to gunman who was said to had walked in with a dark trench coat on,” the person wrote on Twitter.
The Sun-Sentinel reported the gun was a handgun.
GettyPalm Beach County Sheriff’s officers stand outside of a Publix supermarket where a woman, child and a man were found shot to death on June 10, 2021 in Royal Palm Beach, Florida. Law enforcement officials continue to investigate the crime scene for clues as to why the shooting occurred.
Shoppers who witnessed the shooting expressed their shock to The Palm Beach Post.
“This is a friendly Publix. I can’t believe this crazy thing happened,” Tracy Greene told the newspaper, and said she shops in the plaza regularly.
Tracey Cohron, a Royal Palm Beach resident who also frequents the Publix where the shooting occurred, told the newspaper she thought nothing like that would ever happen there. She said she knows many employees and was terrified to learn who died.
“I’ve been here for 20 years, and I can’t believe this is happening,” Cohron told the newspaper. “I know so many people who work there. I’m scared to death to find out who even got shot.”
She added in her interview with reporters that she only missed the shooting by about six minutes.
“This is insane,” she told the Post. “I can’t believe this is really happening in my neighborhood.”
5. A Memorial for the Victims Appeared in the Store as Witnesses Returned to Gather Their Belongings & Police Officials Said the Investigation Is Expected to Be Lengthy
A memorial including stuffed animals and flowers appeared outside Publix as witnesses to the shooting returned to claim their possessions Friday, June 11, 2021, according to WPTV.
Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Teri Barbera told Local 10 News in the hours after the shooting that the investigative process would be lengthy. Wall was identified after his next of kin was notified.
“We have three individuals deceased right now and we don’t have the next of kin notified, so please understand this is a long process,” Barbera told the news station at the time.
Ana Hernandez dropped off a teddy bear for the young boy who was killed yesterday at the Publix. She has a 1 year old at home. Really hits close to her.
— Andrew Lofholm (@AndrewLofholm) June 11, 2021
Barbera told the news station that PBSO was documenting the scene, interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance footage and video as part of the investigation and to determine a motive in the shooting.
Publix issued a statement saying, “Our thoughts are with those who are impacted by this tragedy,” according to The Palm Beach Post. “We are cooperating with the local law enforcement.”
BREAKING: The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida says three people are dead, including a child, following a shooting inside a Publix grocery store. #flapol
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) June 10, 2021
The outlet indicated that police allowed few people to leave the store and “it appeared most workers and some customers were being kept inside” for interviews. Police were also checking license plates and “people were not being allowed to move their vehicles,” The Palm Beach Post reported.
Shoppers and employees were allowed to return to the store between 9 a.m. and noon Friday, June 11, to collect any items they left behind when fleeing the store, according to CBS 12. The Publix would remain closed until at least Sunday, the news station reported.
You wouldn’t even know something devastating happened at the Royal Palm Beach Publix if you drove by this morning. But the store will stay closed today as police continue to investigate the shooting that led to a grandmother and a toddler being killed. @CBS12
— Madeline Montgomery (@MadelineTV) June 11, 2021
“You wouldn’t even know something devastating happened at the Royal Palm Beach Publix if you drove by this morning,” Madeline Montgomery of CBS 12 wrote on Twitter. “But the store will stay closed today as police continue to investigate the shooting that led to a grandmother and a toddler being killed.”
