A Florida man has been slapped with a litany of criminal charges for driving his golf cart into a Walmart, ramming several pedestrians.
Deputies in Hillsborough County were called to the Gibsonton store after calls that 56-year-old Michael Dale Hudson was blocking the entrance of Walmart’s liquor store demanding to speak with the manager, the Tampa Bay Times reports. While authorities were speaking with Hudson, he suddenly drove away and plowed through the main entrance of the store, sending pedestrians scrambling to jump out of the way.
Deputies chased after him demanding that he stop, but instead the speeding cart entered the checkout area and hit several shoppers before crashing into a cash register. A few of the patrons were injured but were treated at the scene by paramedics. Hudson was taken to the hospital, although authorities didn’t say what medical treatment he required.
Hudson was charged with multiple counts of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, trespassing, and felony criminal mischief.
The same Walmart drew national headlines earlier this week after a man called and threatened to shoot up the store. About 1,000 people were evacuated because of the threat. Law enforcement eventually charged 31-year-old Wayne Lee Padgett with a felony charge of filing a false report of using a firearm in a violent manner, Padgett said he was “intrigued” by the recent mass shootings at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and outside a bar in Ohio.
