On August 5, 2000, 42 year old Fred Nelson went to his local Wal-Mart store on Hudson Drive in Stow, Ohio, and purchased a sawed-off 12 gauge shotgun. Shotgun purchases are not restricted by the Brady Bill 3 day waiting period. Nelson took his shotgun bought on-demand, and later that same evening, drove to the Crocker restaurant, where at point blank range he shot 42 year old Mark Burton, a chef at the restaurant, who Nelson believed had “stolen his wife”. He then scalped his dying victim with a knife, after standing over him and repeatedly shooting him. About six hours after the murder, Nelson was hunted down in the woods and arrested without incident. A Wal-Mart spokesperson confirmed that Nelson had purchased the shotgun earlier that day at his conveniently located Wal-Mart.
A couple of years ago, when singer Sheryl Crow published a song about someone who bought a gun at Wal-Mart and used it for violent purposes, the company responded by refusing to carry her CD in their stores.But they obviously did not refuse to carry guns, including the shotgun that was used to shoot Mark Burton in the back. This is just a recent example of guns purchased at Wal-Mart being used for murder. No one has used a Sheryl Crow CD to murder anyone, but Wal-Mart guns are definitely another story. Crow’s lyrics unfortunately, seem to be a case of life imitating art.
