A Laurinburg man was shot to death Thursday morning inside the Piggly Wiggly store on East Church Street in what police say was a dispute over a woman.

Police say the shooter — Aubrey Reece Odum — worked in the food store's meat department. The 28-year-old Odum of 503 Scotland Street, Maxton, turned himself into police following the 9 a.m. shooting.

Authorities say the victim was 35-year old Brian McLean of 818 Whiteville St. No one else was injured.

"Fortunately, with the time of of day, there weren't many shoppers in the store," said Lt. Chris Young of the Laurinburg Police Department.

Odum is charged with first degree murder; he is being held without bond.

Young said McLean was dating Odum's ex-girlfriend, Victoria Blackwell. Odum had two children with the Blackwell, ages 1 and 4.

Capt. Kimothy Monroe said that Odum told authorities that he thought McLean planned to hurt him.

"According to Mr. Odum, he had information that McLean was there to cause him harm," Monroe said. "He observed McLean walking towards the meat department."

Monroe said Odum pulled out a handgun and fired three shots at close range, striking McLean in the wrist, the upper body and back.

McLean ran to the front of the store, where he collapsed, Young said. He died on the scene.

Young says authorities have a significant amount of evidence in the case, including security tape footage of the entire incident.

"The video will be a key factor in this case," Young said.

Police also have the alleged murder weapon, shell casings and witness testimony, as well as a confession from Odum.

Young denied reports that Blackwell had walked in the store with McLean. He said it appears McLean walked in the store alone on the security tapes while Blackwell was not in the store during the incident.

The detective also said there was a telephone conversation between McLean and Odum earlier in the day. Odum told officers McLean said he was going to confront Odum in the Piggly Wiggly.

Young would not comment on whether this may have caused the incident. It was also unclear if this was why Odum brought a gun to work. It is against Piggly Wiggly's store policy for employees to have a firearm on the job.

Police say the victim was unarmed.

Laurinburg Police Chief John Evans said he was leaving the police station as Odum turned himself in.

Evans said Odum walked into the building still carrying the automatic pistol that police believe he used in the shooting. Odum placed the gun on the counter and surrendered to police, telling officers he was the shooting suspect.

DOC records say Odum has not previously been convicted of a crime in North Carolina.

The victim, McLean, spent 10 years in prison on convictions for kidnapping and rape.

Scene 'chaotic'

Police say the scene at Piggly Wiggly was hectic, with people running from the store in tears.

"It was chaos – complete pandemonium," Monroe said. "Employees did not expect this when they came to work this morning."

Patrolman Vernon Jackson, Jr. was the first on the scene.

He described the scene as "somewhat chaotic."

"Employees and customers inside the store were confused and scared," Jackson said.

He said officers worked quickly to lock-down the local grocery and determine that there was no threat in the store.

The officer also said Odum turned himself in quickly.

"I was walking through the front door of the store when I was told... by our telecommunicator that the shooter was in custody," Jackson said.

Evans said when he arrived people were running from the store.

"When I got there, I could see people crying," Evans said. "Employees were sitting by the fence. They looked distraught."

Young said people were running out of the business when he got there. He said that some people tried to enter the store as they were securing the seen, apparently oblivious to the heavy police presence.

According to Young, three customers and 10 employees were in the store when the shooting occurred.

Family members of the victim could be seen outside of Piggly Wiggly within an hour of the shooting.

Police had to keep family away from rescue crews as they removed McLean's body from the scene.

Officers held witnesses at the scene for over three hours until they could be questioned.

The store remained closed until police finished gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.

A crew then came in to clean the store and Piggly Wiggly was reopened by mid-afternoon.