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Man Arrested In Longmont Walmart Homicide Will Not Be Charged

The suspect in a fatal shooting outside of the Walmart east of Longmont , will not be charged according to the Weld County District Attorney's Office.

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

The suspect in a fatal shooting outside of the Walmart east of Longmont, will not be charged according to the Weld County District Attorney's Office.

Joseph Anderson, from Northglenn, was arrested in Loveland on suspicion of second-degree murder after he allegedly shot 33-year-old Keith Williams on July 23rd.

It was decided not to press charges against Anderson after statements from witnesses, as well as evidence provided by the Longmont Police Department, determined Anderson was acting in self-defense when he shot Williams.

Anderson was meeting with a female friend in the parking lot when Williams appeared in an agitated state. The female and Williams had recently ended their relationship.

Willaims, shown by surveillance video, started to fight with Anderson briefly before he shot Williams at close range. Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke said "This was a difficult case to sort through, so I would like to thank the Longmont Police Department for their diligent investigation.  We hate for anyone to lose a life, and we can't imagine the pain the victims family must be going through.  However, in this particular case, the evidence points to self-defense, so in the interest of justice, charges will not be filed."

Anderson was not charged with leaving the scene because, unlike leaving the scene of a traffic incident, it isn't illegal to leave the scene of a shooting.  Tyler Hill, communications director for the DA's office said: "By law, he had no obligation to stay at the scene, even it being self-defense."

Anderson was released Tuesday, August 1st.