Authorities are searching for the woman who reportedly open-fired at an Albuquerque Walmart Tuesday morning after employees attempted to apprehend her for theft.

Walmart personnel attempted to bring the alleged shoplifter into the store's back office, according to KRQE. After refusing to cooperate, the woman briefly left the building to retrieve a firearm from her vehicle and then shot multiple rounds into Walmart's front doors. 

Dick Knipfing, a former KRQE anchor, was shopping at the store when the incident occurred. 

"All of a sudden, bam bam bam bam bam, and I know enough [that] I knew it was gunshots right away," Knipfing said, according to KRQE. "Instantly, some woman came running into the store screaming. She was petrified."

The shooter's identity is known by detectives, KRQE reported; law enforcement is seeking an arrest warrant in order to detain the woman. 

Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina said shoplifters brandishing firearms has recently become a trend. He recently proposed legislation that would discourage armed thefts to lawmakers. Authorities have started charging the offenders with robbery in order to dissuade potential offenders, he said. 

"I hope the legislature ... sees that the exact things we spoke about actually played out in the streets of Albuquerque [Tuesday], and we have to put an end to it," Medina said, according to KRQE.