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VIDEO: Man drove golf cart through Walmart, hit shoppers, deputies say

 
A 56-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after charging his golf cart through the Walmart in Gibsonton on Thursday, terrorizing shoppers before he crashed into a cash register, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. [HCSO]
A 56-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after charging his golf cart through the Walmart in Gibsonton on Thursday, terrorizing shoppers before he crashed into a cash register, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. [HCSO]
Published Aug. 8, 2019

GIBSONTON — A 56-year-old man charged his golf cart through a Walmart on Thursday, terrorizing shoppers before he crashed into a cash register, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies were summoned to the Walmart on 9205 Gibsonton Drive at about 12:30 p.m. There they found Michael Dale Hudson blocking the liquor store entrance on his golf cart and demanding to talk to a manager.

While deputies spoke to Hudson, the agency said he suddenly drove away and raced towards the main entrance, nearly striking several pedestrians along the way.

He ignored deputies' orders to stop, the agency said, as he drove through the glass front doors and entered the store. He entered the checkout area, struck several patrons and caused many others to jump out of his way, the Sheriff's Office said.

Then he crashed into a register, which is where deputies took him into custody.

A few shoppers were injured but treated at the scene by paramedics. They were not taken to a hospital, according to the Sheriff's Office.

However, Hudson was taken to Tampa General Hospital but deputies did not say why he required medical treatment.

He will soon be booked into the county jail on multiple counts of aggravated battery/aggravated assault with a motor vehicle and charges of trespassing after warning, resisting arrest without violence and felony criminal mischief, the agency said.

The Gibsonton Walmart was evacuated earlier this week because of a threat of violence.

RELATED STORY: Valrico man, 31, arrested after fake threat evacuates Gibsonton Walmart, deputies say

A man called the store on Sunday and threatened a shooting attack, deputies said, a day after a massacre at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. Nearly 1,000 shoppers were evacuated while deputies investigated the threat. They eventually arrested Wayne Lee Padgett, 31, of Valrico, on a felony charge of filing a false report of using a firearm in a violent manner.

Contact Kavitha Surana at ksurana@tampabay.com. Follow @ksurana6.