Police spokesperson gives update on Walmart shooting
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A chilling “manifesto” has been found on the cellphone of Walmart gunman Andre Bing, where he laid out his motive for the mass shooting in Virginia that left six coworkers dead and at least four other victims injured ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Memorials and cande light vigils were held across the Chesapeake area on Thursday to honour the victims.
President Biden said on Thursday that the shooting, as well as the massacre at an LGTBQ+ club in Colorado Springs over the weekend, underscored the need to outlaw “sick” assault weapons with no social value.
Witnesses have described how the horrifying events unfolded late on Tuesday when Bing opened fire in the employee break room, as investigators try to piece together a motive.
A law enforcement source told local media that Bing was “upset” about a recent change in employment status and complained that he was being “harassed” by fellow employees. A former coworker also said he was paranoid about the government watching him and did not like being recorded. One witness claims she saw him target certain people during the attack.
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Community members mourn teen victim of Chesapeake shooting
Community members gathered on Thursday to mourn Fernando Chavez Jr, one of the victims of the Chesapeake Walmart shooting.
Authorities previously kept the 16-year-old’s name confidential, owing to his age, but supporters have now organised a memorial fund a GoFundMe in his name.
Chavez was remembered as “an amazing person who will be missed,” according to the page.
“He was an 11th grade honors student and new driver, who was excited about his first part-time job at Walmart,” the GoFundMe page continues. “An outstanding son and excellent big brother, he loved building with Legos. He will always be remembered as humble, loving, responsible and hardworking young man.”
Josh Marcus25 November 2022 03:20
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Should we rebroadcast name of Chesapeake shooter?
As Americans across the country race to get news about the Chesapeake Walmart shooting, one local newsroom has made an interesting decision: not to repeatedly broadcast the name of the alleged gunman.
Deciding how much to center the identity of the shooter after a mass killing is often a controversial choice in newsrooms.
On the one hand, focusing on the assailant sheds light on what happened, and can suggest places where authorities can look for future warning signs.
On the other hand, the identity of the shooter can often eclipse that of the victims, or even inspire copy cats.
What do you think is the best way forward?
Josh Marcus25 November 2022 02:20
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There have been 609 mass shootings this year
The Chesapeake shooting was yet another mass killing in America’s gun-violence epidemic.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 609 mass killings in the US this year, part of 39,843 overall gun violence deaths in the country.
Josh Marcus25 November 2022 01:20
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Walmart hosts Thanksgiving meal at Virginia hotel for traumatised employees
Walmart hosted a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday for employees of a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, where six people were killed in a mass shooting on Tuesday, ABC News reports.
The meal took place at the Delta Hotel in Chesapeake, and featured store employees and their families, as well as faith leaders there to offer comfort.
Seven people remain in the hospital with injuries after the shooting.
Josh Marcus25 November 2022 00:50
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Video: Church holds service honoring victims of Chesapeake shooting
A church in Chesapeake, Virginia, held a candle light service honoring the six people who were killed on Tuesday in a mass shooting at a Walmart store.
The service was one of numerous memorials to the tragedy, which have sprung up at the store and around the city.
Watch the full video below, via Reuters.
Josh Marcus25 November 2022 00:20
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Chesapeake survivors recount horrific moments from shooting
Survivors of the 22 November shooting inside a Virginia Walmart that killed six people have begun sharing their experiences.
Donya Prioleau said she was inside the employee break room when shots began ringing out.
“Half of us didn’t believe it was real until some of us saw all the blood on the floor,” she added.
Another coworker, Jessie Wilczewski, told the network she could’ve run from the shots but chose to stay in the store as her colleagues experienced their final moments.
“I could have ran out that door … and I stayed. I stayed so they wouldn’t be alone,” she said.
Josh Marcus24 November 2022 23:30
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Memorial grows outside of Chesapeake Walmart after mass shooting
Mourners and community members have built a memorial outside the Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart where six people were killed in a mass shooting on Tuesday.
Flowers and balloons have been assembled to remember the victims: Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Lorenzo Gamble, Randy Blevins, Tyneka Johnson, and a 16-year-old boy whose name has been kept confidential.
“It was important for us to come out and remember,” a community member told WAVY. “It was important to remember the lives lost and everybody that was affected by the tragedy. It’s heartbreaking to think about all the employees who have to come back and realize what happened here. All the ones that are in the hospital, more families, it is very tragic.”
Josh Marcus24 November 2022 23:00
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‘That’s Andre’: Video shows alleged Walmart shooter Andre Bing joking with coworkers
A video circulating on social media shows alleged Chesapeake Walmart shooter Andre Bing at work, joking with his colleagues. In the original clip, which appears to have been taken down from Facebook, shows an individual who resembles Bing telling a story about parking a car, before smiling and darting out of frame when he realises he’s being recorded.
“That’s Andre,” a coworker can be heard saying in the background.
“YOU KILLED PEOPLE THAT WAS REALLY CLOSE TO ME THERE. I NEVER WOULD OF THOUGHT U WOULD DO SOME S*** LIKE THIS… THIS IS THE MANAGER WHO DID THAT !! ROT IN HELL,” Draayia Janaee, who posted the video, wrote on Facebook, Fox News reports.
Josh Marcus24 November 2022 22:30
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An in-depth look at what caused the Chesapeake Walmart shooting
Police said that on Andre Bing’s cellphone, they discovered a “manifesto” of sorts, in which he complained about unspecified changes to his employment status, and what he termed other staff’s harassment of him about it. One report said that close to his body, police found a list of employees he planned to attack.
As America marked Thanksgiving Day, police in Chesapeake, Virginia, were searching for clues to the mass shooting as a Walmart store, an incident whose horror has reverberated across the nation, another jolting mass shooting taking place in the most mundane of settings.
In Nantucket, Massachusetts, a holidaying Joe Biden was asked about the incident and he vowed he would take action to control the sale of semi-automatic weapons.
“The idea that we’re not enforcing red flag laws … is ridiculous,” he said. “The idea we still allow semi-automatic weapons to be purchased is sick. Just sick. It has no, no social redeeming value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary rationale for it except profit for the gun manufacturers.”
Andrew Buncombe has the full story for The Independent.
Josh Marcus24 November 2022 22:00
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What we know about the shooting
Here’s what we know so far about the mass shooting at the Chesapeake branch of Walmart.
Oliver O’Connell24 November 2022 21:30