Investigators describe panic, destruction in trial of man accused of deadly Walmart shooting

SOUTHAVEN, Miss. — New photos were presented Wednesday in the trial of a man accused of a deadly shooting at the Southaven Walmart in 2019.

Prosecutors said that Montez Abram killed two people and wounded a police officer in the shooting.

FOX13 was in the court on the third day of the trial on Wednesday.

PHOTOS: Inside the courtroom of the Martez Abram trial

A crime scene analyst with Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and an ATF special agent who investigated the fire testified Wednesday.

”What distinguished this case was the fact that there was a sense of panic surrounding it that I don’t normally receive from the people dispatching me,” said Amber Conn, the MBI crime scene analyst.

RELATED: Trial begins for man accused of killing two coworkers at Southaven Walmart

Conn talked about the firearms recovered from the scene. This included a 9-millimiter handgun with an extended magazine and a 45-caliber handgun with an extended magazine.

She also spoke about spent rounds and live rounds recovered from the scene.

Investigators said that the store reeked of soot and fire and water when they got there.

Pictures of a body armor worn by a responding officer who was shot and survived were shown to the jury, as well as the location of the victims bodies inside and outside the store.

”I was called and we have an active shooter and we are not even sure that it was safe for us to be on scene, so we dispatched and and we get there and I have worked other cases like this, but this was a first for me,” Conn said.

ATF special agent Jeffrey Osburg described how the fire that had been set inside the store in a toilet paper display erupted, with pictures of the scene shown to the jury.

”As you can see, there is not a lot of damage to any products on the aisle, but when it gets to the top it has nothing to contain it, and that is where the heat is getting to the plastic that is wrapping the product,” Osburg said.

A security video from inside the store was shared with the jury, and it showed a large fire erupting as a man runs away from the toilet paper display with some of his clothing on fire.

Investigators said that they dug into the pile of burned toilet paper for evidence.

”As we started peeling back layers of debris, there was a strong smell of gasoline,” Osburg said.