Man Charged In Staged Fight At LI Walmart That Caused Mass Panic

COMMACK, NY - A Pennsylvania man has been arrested for causing a mass panic at a Long Island Walmart last year, Suffolk Police said Friday night.

Marcquis Graham, 24, of Philadelphia, was arrested on Thursday in Ronkonkoma. He was charged with second degree riot, unlawful assembly, second degree criminal nuisance, second degree reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child. The charges are all misdemeanors.

Graham was one of five men who staged a "violent altercation" at the Walmart at 85 Crooked Hill Road in Commack on the afternoon of Dec. 2, police said.

During the incident, one man appeared to slap another man, while the other three men were videoing the altercation, which police said was staged in order to produce "a prank video to post on social media for shock value.

The sound of the slap led some people to believe that a shot may have been fired, and one of the men screamed, "There is a gun!" police said.

There was no shot or gun and there were no injuries reported. The incident created mass panic throughout the store.

"I can't seem to stop shaking. My heart is still pounding," a mother of two who was in the store at the time wrote on Twitter. "Everyone started running, I had my 8 y/o, but we got separated from my hubby and my 5 y/o... total nightmare."

Graham arraigned at First District Court in Central Islip Friday. He was released on his own recognizance and is due back in court on Dec. 16.

No other arrests have been made and police said the investigation is continuing.