A Kosciusko man arrested for a fatal shooting at Walmart in west Starkville on Saturday is now also facing an aggravated assault charge.
William Thomas Chisholm, 41, was charged with aggravated assault during a Thursday afternoon appearance in Starkville Municipal Court.
Starkville police arrested Chisholm on Saturday morning after he allegedly shot and killed 42-year-old optometrist Shauna Witt inside the Walmart at 1010 Highway 12 West. Officers arrested Chisholm in the store’s parking lot shortly after arriving on scene.
Witt, the sole optometrist at the Walmart’s eye center, was in an “on again, off again dating relationship” with Chisholm, according to police.
Police reported no one else was hurt in the incident. However, according to an affidavit city prosecutor Caroline Moore read during Thursday’s court session, a bullet from Chisholm’s Springfield 9-millimeter pistol passed through the jacket of Kaylace Beatty.
SPD arrested Chisholm Saturday on suspicion of capital murder, with burglary as an underlying offense. He was also charged with malicious mischief for damage caused to a SPD car after the incident. Chisholm was denied bond on Sunday.
On Thursday, Municipal Judge Rodney Faver set Chisholm’s bond for the aggravated assault charge at $100,000.
Chisholm did not enter a plea on any of the charges Thursday. Faver noted public defender Mark Williamson, who’s representing Chisholm, asked for his court date to be delayed. Chisholm is next set to appear in municipal court at 6 p.m. on Monday.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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