Pregnant woman, 25, shot 7 times by armed Walgreens employee who thought she was shoplifting makeup launches lawsuit after she had to undergo emergency C-section and baby was born with heart problems

A pregnant Tennessee woman who was shot seven times by an armed Walgreens employee who thought she was shoplifting is now suing the retailer.

Travonsha Ferguson, 25, was at a Walgreens in Nashville when she was reportedly followed out by a store employee, who opened fire and shot the young mother-to-be several times in April 2023.

Ferguson, who was 27 weeks pregnant at the time, was one of two women accused of shoplifting cosmetics and makeup from the Walgreens store. She nearly lost her unborn baby during the ordeal.

Due to the injuries, Ferguson had to undergo an emergency C-section. The baby, born premature, was less than two pounds, and was born with a hole in his heart.

Ferguson's attorney, L. Chris Stewart, announced at a press conference on Wednesday that his client is suing Walgreens for damages and negligence, including letting an employee use his own handgun at work on a suspected shoplifter.

During the announcement, Ferguson, who appeared visibly upset, lifted her arm and showed where the bullets hit her last year.

Her attorney added: 'Ms Ferguson did nothing at all to deserve to be shot this many times. A witness even said it sounded like the full clip was emptied.'

Stewart said that Walgreens is supposed to have a 'no chase' policy for suspected shoplifters. The store employee was not indicted by a grand jury after the ordeal.

Boyd’s employment with Walgreens was terminated as a result of this incident and his violation of Walgreens policies, according to th suit.

As a result of the shooting, Ferguson sustained internal and intestinal injuries and, as a medical necessity, must now wear a colostomy bag to survive, as per the lawsuit seen by DailyMail.com.

The lawsuit also stated that Ferugson's baby, named Raheem, who is now 11- months old, has a heart defect requires a device to be installed to be corrected.

Her son is also at an increased risk of long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities, as per the suit.

Stewart argued that it was not the staff member's job to put the lives of shoppers in danger, or use his own personal gun.

The lawyer said: 'That is improper. It is putting your lives in danger, patrons lives in danger. That's not your job.

'It is the job of Walgreens to make sure they hire proper security and they protect their patrons.'

He further stated that he believes: 'The situation of self defense if one shot, but said it is impossible to shoot seven times with such accuracy if you've been maced — which he was not.

'We believe it was sprayed at him or in the air when they were surprised — as any pregnant mother would do who gets surprised by somebody running up on them screaming slurs.'

Ferguson's distraught mother Shantanica Ferguson, who was holding her grandson during the conference, said her 'daughter did not deserve for this to happen to her.

'It's been a long ride and it's not fair she deserves justice.'