HIGH RIDGE, Mo. — A St. Louis man was arrested and charged Wednesday after sheriff's deputies said he fired gunshots on the parking lot of the Walmart in High Ridge earlier this week.
Multiple cars were struck and damaged as a result of the shooting that happened after a domestic incident. No one was injured.
Tyler Bland, 26, was charged with first-degree domestic assault, first-degree assault, two counts of armed criminal action and one count of second-degree property damage.
The shots were fired just before 8 pm. Monday on the parking lot of Walmart located at 2700 Ridge Point Drive in High Ridge.
According to a probable cause statement, Brand and a woman were in a romantic relationship and had separated two weeks before the incident. Despite the break-up, Brand started sending the wom an threatening Facebook messages because she'd stopped talking to him. The woman told deputies she didn't know how Brand knew she was at Walmart since she hadn't had any contact with him.
Brand went to Walmart with a friend to find the woman, according to the probable cause statement. Once he found her inside, he demanded that she leave with them. When the woman refused and walked away from him, Brand admitted to deputies that he followed her to another part of the store and continued to tell her she'd leave with them.
Brand then took the woman's cell phone and broke it, authorities said.
The woman told deputies she walked outside to leave with a friend. Brand followed them both outside and stopped her from getting into her car. He then took her second phone and broke it, too.
The woman and her friend told Brand to get away from the car and leave. Brand then lifted the front of his shirt and showed a black pistol that he concealed in his front waistband, the woman and her friend said.
The woman's friend then got his gun from the car's center console and got out of the car to confront Brand. When he walked around the rear of the car, Brand saw the gun and started walking backward as the friend told him he needed to leave.
Brand then started shooting at both of them as he ran away, the woman and her friend said.
The woman's friend told police he did not fire back at Brand.
Brand then got into his car and drove off.
Several vehicles were hit by gunfire, the sheriff's office said. Investigators found several shell casings on the parking lot where the incident happened. Three nearby cars were damaged, and had shattered glass and flat tires. One car was shot through its rear driver-side door.
Walmart surveillance video showed the moment Brand walked backward and away from the woman's friend after he got out of the car with his own gun, according to the probable cause statement.
The victim told police she ended the relationship because Brand had fired gunshots at her before.
Brand was being held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail.
The sheriff’s office said it offers resources for survivors of domestic violence, including a victim services coordinator and an advocate. Jefferson County residents who are in a domestic violence situation and need help are encouraged to email pshort@jeffcomo.org or call 636-797-5017.
