ALTON, Ill. – A Godfrey, Illinois, woman has been charged in connection with an altercation inside an Alton business that ended with her striking an employee with a gun and resulted in her being shot.

According to Chief Jarrett Ford, Alton Police Department, the shooting occurred around 10:10 a.m. on June 6, at the Rent-A-Center in the 2800 block of Homer Adams Parkway.

Police received two 911 calls: from a woman indicating she’d been shot and a Rent-A-Center employee reporting the incident.

Officers arrived to find the victim, identified as Lashelle Barrett, in a parked car near the store. First responders with the Alton Fire Department took Barrett to a local hospital before she was moved to St. Louis.

Chief Ford said investigators learned Barrett had come to the store to confront a relative who works there. Barrett had an order of protection against her, prohibiting her from contacting the relative and from being at the store.

Barrett and her relative got into a verbal argument, which turned physical. Barrett took out a firearm, threatened other employees, and struck her relative in the head with the weapon.

Another Rent-A-Center employee took out a firearm and shot Barrett.

Barrett ran from the store, got in her vehicle, and drove a short distance away before calling 911.

The Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Barrett, 29, with one count of aggravated battery, one count of unlawful use of a weapon, three counts of aggravated assault, and one count of child endangerment. The latter charge was added to the indictment because Barrett allegedly left an infant in her vehicle when she went inside the business.

At present, Barrett is in custody in Missouri on a separate case.

Prosecutors declined to charge the Rent-A-Center employee who fired a shot during the incident and wounded Barrett. They determined this individual’s actions did not violate state laws.