Employees at the Costco store on DeBarr Road subdued a 29-year-old man after he tried to steal merchandise and pistol-whipped an employee, Anchorage police said.
Anchorage police spokeswoman Jennifer Castro said officers got a call from the store at 4125 DeBarr Road just after 12:30 p.m. Thomas Schultz Jr. was in the store with two other adults when a security guard saw him "concealing merchandise in a box," police said in a release.
It wasn't clear what the man had allegedly tried to take.
"The suspect was confronted by a loss prevention employee at the store and during the engagement produced a firearm and pistol-whipped the employee," Castro said. "The employee and other employees were able to subdue the suspect and get the gun away from him until officers were able to arrive at 12:45 p.m. and take over the scene."
The employee hit with the pistol suffered a minor abrasion, police said.
Schultz has been charged with third-degree assault, third-degree theft and third-degree misconduct involving a weapon. He's been taken to the Anchorage jail.
Costco policy bans guns in stores, Castro said.