Mississippi security guard shoots fleeing man accused of stealing 95¢ candy bar

A Mississippi security guard is facing charges after he shot a man suspected of pocketing a candy bar, WAPT reports.

Alvin Gardner was allegedly seen on surveillance camera stuffing a Snickers bar in his pocket and leaving a store without paying for it. The store security guard, Bennie Montgomery, followed him out of the store and fired "warning shots."

But Montgomery struck Gardner in the back of his right thigh.

“You can’t just discharge a firearm at a fleeing suspect. You can’t do that,” Canton Police Chief Otha Brown said. “The security guard should have known that when the suspect ran out the store, the threat was over. There was no need to discharge a firearm."

Montgomery has been charged with aggravated assault, WAPT reports.

While Gardner is recovering in a local hospital, the station reports the bullet struck an artery, causing him to lose so much blood that he lost consciousness.

Authorities never recovered the 95-cent candy bar, WAPT reports. A grand jury will decide whether or not the guard will face charges.

"You can't pick up your weapon and shoot someone for a candy bar," Chief Brown said.

Watch the report, from WAPT, here: