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A mother was fatally shot in front of her daughter in a Texas PetSmart parking lot, reportedly during an argument over not being thanked for holding a door open.
ABC News reports that on Tuesday, around 1 p.m., Cecilia Simpson, 41, was shot multiple times outside of the Dallas PetSmart in the 2500 block of West Sheatland.
According to an arrest warrant affidavit, Simpson and her 20-year-old daughter were walking out of 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 got in their vehicle and went to the PetSmart in the same parking lot. Hampton walked toward the store, allegedly following the ladies.
Simpson and her daughter then told PetSmart employees that Hampton was following them.
Hampton entered the PetSmart and reportedly argued with Simpson’s daughter. Hampton left, but then returned to the store several minutes later and began arguing 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 told 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]