An armed pastor has been hailed by police officers as a good Samaritan after he shot and killed a gunman who attempted to steal a car at a Walmart parking lot in Washington state.

Police were called to the Walmart Supercenter in Tumwater around 5:30 p.m. on Sunday after a man reportedly fired shots inside the store prior to a carjacking attempt in the parking lot.

According to The Olympian, 44-year-old Tim Day had attempted a carjacking at a gas station prior to his shooting spree at the Walmart store.

After his unsuccessful attempt, he crashed his own car at Tyee Drive and Israel Road Southwest and tried to steal two more vehicles. He reportedly fired two shots there, resulting in the injuries of a 16-year-old boy and one other person.

Day was able to steal a third vehicle, which he had driven to a Walmart store apparently to get some ammunition.

After exiting the store, Day reportedly tried to steal another car before he was shot by the pastor, who also serves as a lieutenant and an emergency medical technician at the Oakville Fire Department. The police have declined to name the pastor, who reportedly has a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Megan Chadwick, who witnessed the shooting, said that other armed men also went after the suspect.

'There were three civilians going after him (the shooter) to shoot him and two of them had their guns up -- and then the third guy shot him through the window of the car,' she said, as reported by KIRO7.

She said that she was inside the store with her children when the shooting started. 'I looked over and saw hundreds of people running out. ... Just a flood of people and everyone was screaming and frantic. ... When we got about to the door, I heard someone say, 'Gun. Shooter.' And I knew something was serious,' she recounted, according to KIRO7.

A 48-year-old man shot by Day in the Walmart parking lot was reportedly in critical condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.  A GoFundMe page has been set up to support him.