Texas woman holds door for shopper at Five Below. Then she follows her to PetSmart and ends up in prison for 30 years: ‘Let’s handle this outside’

A Texas woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after shooting another woman following an argument over a door being held open, according to CBS Texas. The dispute reportedly began when the victim failed to say “thank you” after the now-convicted woman held the door for her at a Five Below store.

It later escalated into a confrontation in a nearby PetSmart parking lot that apparently ended with the victim being shot. Keona Hampton, 23, received the sentence for shooting 41-year-old Cecilia Simpson. Court records showed Hampton had accepted a plea deal.

Hampton apparently admitted to arguing with Simpson after holding a door open for her as she left Five Below. Hampton then followed Simpson to a nearby PetSmart, where the argument reportedly continued inside the store. Employees eventually asked both women to leave, but the confrontation did not end there.

The argument continued

According to a police affidavit cited by the outlet, Hampton admitted to throwing a bottle at Simpson’s car. Simpson then approached Hampton, and the two reportedly became involved in a physical altercation.

Simpson had apparently been shopping with her daughter, who told police she began moving away when the two women started fighting. The daughter alleged that Hampton then pulled out a gun and shot Simpson three times, according to the KDFW.

A 27-year-old emergency room nurse who witnessed the incident said that Hampton had repeatedly challenged Simpson to come outside and fight. “The shooter was saying, ‘Come outside. Let’s handle this outside. Let’s fight outside.’ And the mom and daughter were just telling her to go away,” she alleged. She further added that “the mother and daughter tried to get in the car to de-escalate the situation, but the lady wasn’t having it. They started to fight, and that’s when the lady pulled out her gun and shot her.”

The nurse also reportedly attempted to perform CPR on Simpson before paramedics arrived. Upon arrival, officers reportedly found Simpson in the parking lot outside PetSmart suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. She was taken to a hospital, where she later succumbed to her wounds. In a message to the daughter, the nurse said, “I just want her to know I did everything I could. Those other people did everything they could.”

Although Hampton has allegedly fled after the shooting, she was arrested later that day and has remained in custody since the shooting. She will receive credit for 303 days already served.