If you hear the words 'Code Red' while shopping at Walmart, please run to the exit ASAP

Walmart is a giant in the retail space not just because of attractive deals and product quality, but also because the firm prioritizes the safety of customers at its stores. There's a lot that can go wrong at a supermarket from fire hazards to an attempted robbery, or even a shooting incident. There are various codes for each of these incidents that alert the staff about what is going on so that they can help the shoppers. It’d be easier for them if customers also knew about these codes, in order to respond accordingly.

One of the most widely known terms that signal danger is ‘code red,’ but it means something very specific at Walmart. In simple terms, it means that shoppers should leave their shopping carts and get out of the store as fast as possible. This is because code red means that there is a fire in the Walmart store as per Irish Star. It can happen due to various reasons such as an explosion or just a flammable object catching fire.

The fire may be small but that doesn’t mean people should stay back in the store and go on with their shopping. The American Red Cross has also laid out guidelines for people who might be caught in a fire situation. "Remember to GET OUT, STAY OUT, and CALL 9-1-1 or your local emergency phone number,” the guidelines state. "If you must escape through smoke, get low and go under the smoke to your exit. Close doors behind you,” it adds.

Walmart uses several other codes as well and any code with a color attached to it usually represents a serious emergency that can put lives at risk. Code blue means a potential bomb threat, code green means an active robbery or hostage situation, and code white means a customer is injured and needs assistance. However, some codes are not associated with color.

Such codes usually do not signify an emergency unless it's code Adam, which is meant to announce that a child is missing from the store. The employees are informed of the situation via speakers and they are required to search for the child urgently. The kid's appearance is also shared in the loudspeakers. But there's a dark story behind it being named code Adam as opposed to being associated with a color, even though it sounds like an emergency.

In 1981, a boy named Adam Walsh was abducted outside a Sears store after he was separated from his mother. The authorities did everything they could but were not able to find the kid. That’s until a few days later when his severed head was found more than 100 miles away from the store. The rest of his body was never found.

Serial killer Ottis Toole had confessed to committing the murder but had later retracted his statement. He was never convicted for the same as there was not sufficient evidence at the time. However, in 2008, the investigators revealed that it was indeed Toole who murdered Adam, and the case file was closed for good.