MAINEVILLE, Ohio — An arrest has been made after two people were injured in an accidental shooting at a Kroger in Maineville Friday night, according to the Hamilton Township Police Department.
Police said reports of a shooting at the Kroger at 148 E Towne Center in Maineville came in around 7:30 p.m. Friday. Later that night, police chief Scott Hughes said the shooting was accidental, and someone had likely fired a gun from a nearby property.
40-year-old Jayson Hall has been charged with two counts of assault and negligent assault, according to Hamilton Township police. Hall was also charged with inducing panic and improperly discharging a firearm.
Both people have minor injuries, according to police. They were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition.
Hall appeared in court Monday morning, where he told a judge he had recently moved to a home near the Kroger.
A prosecutor in court said the allegations are that Hall was at home "firing an AK-47 in his backyard when at least two of those bullets traveled across the roadway and struck two innocent bystanders shopping at Kroger."
WATCH: New details about the incident were revealed in court Monday morning
Prestige Motor Sales, a business just down the street, shared security camera footage with us. In the footage, you can hear multiple gunshots around 7:22 p.m. that same Friday evening.
In Hall's court appearance, Judge Robert Fischer issued an OR (own recognizance) bond, with GPS monitoring.
WATCH: What we know about the shooting
The Kroger was closed for the rest of the night following the shooting, according to police, and some roads in the area were also closed.
Hall is due back in court on Thursday.
We spoke with licensed gun instructor Wendy Monroe Monday about responsible gun ownership. She's also the chief executive officer of 22three Firearms Store and Range.
“It’s not rocket science, honestly, you just need to follow the rules and be smart," Monroe said.
Monroe told us she has four primary safety rules for proper gun use, including:
- Perform a clearance check every time you pick up a firearm
- Always point your firearm in a safe direction
- Always keep your finger off the trigger and outside the trigger guard until you are on target and have decided to shoot
- Always know your target and what is beyond
“One of the hardest things for people to remember, that I see when we're training with them, is to keep their finger off the trigger until they're ready to shoot," Monroe said.
Monroe, who said she's been a licensed instructor for about 12 years now, told us she saw one of her rules potentially broken in Friday's shooting.
“I think he was outside shooting, so he intended to shoot, he just forgot the fourth safety rule, which was know your target and what is beyond," Monroe said.
She said any gun owner should always follow basic safety rules.
"It doesn’t have to be difficult to follow the safety rules. You just have to be consistent, you have to think about what you are doing," Monroe said.
