Police spokesperson gives update on Walmart shooting
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A Walmart employee has shot and killed six people in a mass shooting inside a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, before turning the gun on himself, according to authorities.
Police were called to the store at around 10.12pm on Tuesday night to find multiple people dead and injured on the scene.
Six victims were killed in the attack and another four remained in hospital with injuries as of Wednesday morning.
A statement from Walmart confirmed the identity of the alleged shooter as Andre Bing, the overnight team lead, who has been employed by the company since 2010.
Police executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home in the aftermath of the shooting and have determined that there is “no ongoing risk to the public”, said the police chief.
In a statement from police on Wednesday afternoon, five of the victims were named. A sixth is a minor and so his name was not released.
A motive for the shooting is unknown, but witnesses have said they believe it was planned and he specifically targeted coworkers.
Key Points
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Analysis: Why the hell can’t America end this deadly gun violence?
You run out of words and you run out of emotions, writes Andrew Buncombe.
But alongside sympathy for the victims, are two other emotions that bubble up and will not go away. And they are anger and outrage.
Oliver O’Connell24 November 2022 00:45
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Politicians respond to Virginia Walmart shooting
Lawmakers and America’s elected leaders reacted with condolences and angry calls for action after the second major mass shooting in a week took place in Virginia just days after a massacre at a Colorado LGBT bar.
The shooting provoked the same calls for gun violence prevention and efforts to resrict guns in American society that other similar tragedies have dredged up but with the muffled resignation of the current political reality of such legislation well on the mind.
The state’s Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin, wrote on Wednesday that he was heartbroken, but did not immediately offer any suggestions for action to tackle future mass killings.
Oliver O’Connell24 November 2022 00:15
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‘A woman fainted and the woman next to her was screaming’
A former employee of the Walmart store, now a Lyft driver, arrived at the scene shortly after the shooting ended. She described what she saw to The Virginian-Pilot:
Janis Strausburg, 48, of Chesapeake, worked maintenance at Walmart until June but is now a Lyft driver. She was dropping someone off at the store shortly after the shooting ended.
She said the timing coincided with a shift change, during which a large group of staff would be meeting in the break room or in a back hallway area. The area is also where employees clock in and out, Strausburg said.
“I saw police dragging a body, they were doing CPR on him. A woman fainted and the woman next to her was screaming we need an ambulance,” she said. “Then I saw maybe five cops went in the store and they very quickly came out.”
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 23:45
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Chesapeake Mayor: ‘We will share this burden together and be stronger for it’
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 23:30
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Names of five adult victims released by police
Chesapeake Police have released the names of the adult victims of Tuesday night’s mass shooting at the local Walmart.
A sixth, 16-year-old minor has not been named.
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 23:15
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State senator eviscerates GOP’s thoughts and prayers
A Democratic state senator in Virginia unloaded on her Republican foes during an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning after a deadly shooting erupted late Tuesday evening at a Walmart in her state.
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 22:45
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What we know about alleged gunman
Andre Bing, a 31-year-old from Chesapeake, is accused of opening fire inside the break room of the store on Sam’s Circle at around 10pm on Tuesday.
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 22:35
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Chesapeake Police release names of victims
Chesapeake Police have released the names of the victims of Tuesday night’s mass shooting at Walmart:
We are saddened to announce the names of those we lost on Tuesday evening at the shooting at Walmart on Sam’s Circle but hope that with this information we can honor their lives in our community. The City of Chesapeake has always been known as the “City That Cares” and now, more than ever, we know our City will show up and care for those who need it most.
Please join us in praying for the family and friends of these community members who we have lost: Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins, and Tyneka Johnson.
The sixth victim is a 16-year-old male resident of Chesapeake whose name and photo are being withheld at the time due to him being a minor.
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 22:17
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Mother details son’s harrowing survival account after he was shot twice
The mother of one of the Walmart workers wounded during Tuesday night’s shooting has explained how he survived.
“He just didn’t understand what was going on. Everybody thought [the manager] was in a mood or something,” Ms Shupe said. “Suddenly it changed. It transitioned from the look to actually seeing a gun.”
A bullet grazed her son’s ear and he began to flee, seeing people on the group that he had to jump over to save himself.
When Jalen made it to the front, she said, he was shot again.
“His exact words were, ‘I got shot… I actually got shot.’ And then when he made it to the front, his exact words was, ‘I just got shot again,’” Ms Shupe said. “So you know, you got shot in the beginning. And now as you’re trying to go get help, just shot again.”
Jalen was helped out by a coworker and they waited in her car until help came. He had been shot in his back and sternum and thought he was going to die. Ms Shupe says he is fighting on but struggling to process what he witnessed.
“There’s trauma,” she said. “He’s really dealing with that more, I guess you could say almost as much as the injuries: the trauma of people being injured and hurt that he might not ever see again.”
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 21:45
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Bing ‘just started spraying’ bullets in the Walmart break room
One Walmart employee who left the break room before Andre Bing began shooting was Kevin Harper, who recounted his experience in a Facebook Live video.
Employee Kevin Harper said a colleague entered the breakroom and started shooting.
“I just left out the breakroom … (the gunman) starts cappin’ people up in there,” Harper said in a Facebook Live video. The video is no longer on his Facebook page, but it has been re-shared on social media.
“He came in there and just started spraying,” Harper said. “I’m sorry for the victims.”
Oliver O’Connell23 November 2022 21:30