A US pharmacy employee who shot and wounded a pregnant woman he suspected of shoplifting said he acted in self-defence after being pepper-sprayed, Nashville police said Thursday.

A Walgreens team leader followed two women to a vehicle in the parking lot Wednesday evening after watching them leave the store without paying for items, police said in a statement. He said he was recording the women on his cellphone and that he made his way to the rear side of a vehicle where they were placing the items in the trunk. One of the women then sprayed him with pepper spray, he told police.

The man said he then fired a semi-automatic pistol because he was “in fear and didn’t know if they were armed,” the statement said.

The women fled in the car, and the employee went back into the store and called 911.

The pregnant woman suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was dropped off at a hospital, where an emergency cesarean section was performed. The child was not injured by gunfire, and both the newborn and the mother were listed in critical but stable condition, police said.

The employee cooperated with detectives and handed over his gun and cellphone.

After the investigation is complete, findings will be sent to the local prosecutor’s office for a determination as to whether charges will be filed.

-Associated Press