A manager at a Walmart store in Chesapeake, Va., opened fire Tuesday night, killing six people and wounding at least six others inside the retail store before shooting himself, officials said Wednesday.
The families of the two deceased victims have identified them as Tyneka Johnson, 22, and Brian Pendleton, 39.
Johnson has only been working at Walmart for a few months and is saving for her first car and apartment, CBS News Justice and DHS correspondent Nicole Sganga reported. James Pendleton said in a statement that his brother “has a big heart for anyone in need” and “will, quite literally, send the shirt off his back to To those who need help more than him.”
Walmart identified the shooter as Andre Bing in a statement. His title is “night team leader,” and he started working for Walmart in 2010, the company said.city officials Say The shooter, 31, was armed with a pistol and multiple magazines.
Walmart employee Brianna Taylor told The Associated Press that the shooting took place in the store’s lounge. Taylor said 15 to 20 people from the overnight inventory team were in a meeting in the room when her manager opened fire.
“Thank God, by the grace of God, a bullet hit me,” Taylor told the Associated Press. “I saw the smoke coming out of the gun and I literally saw the body fall. It was crazy.”
She told news organizations that the shooting happened quickly and that the shooter did not appear to be targeting a specific person. City officials said in a statement that the shooter was in civilian clothes and not wearing any type of body armor.
“He was just shooting across the room,” Taylor said. “It didn’t matter who he hit. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look at anybody in any particular way.”
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
At 10:12 p.m. local time, officers were called to an active threat situation at the Walmart supercenter, Chesapeake Police spokesman Leo Kosinski told reporters at the scene Tuesday night. Officers were on the scene within two minutes, entered the store two minutes later, and within about an hour, they cleared the store and located all of the victims, Police Chief Mark Solsky said Wednesday morning.
Two victims and gunman found dead in break room, city officials Say Wednesday afternoon. Another victim was found dead in front of the store. Three people died at the area hospital.
At least six others are being treated in hospitals in the city SayTwo patients at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital are in critical condition, Dr. Michael Hooper, the hospital’s chief medical officer, told reporters.
Police are not looking for anyone else in connection with the shooting.
Soleski said the shooter died from a gunshot wound he believed to be self-inflicted. He said a pistol was used in the shooting.
The FBI’s Norfolk, Virginia, office confirmed that the agency is providing assistance to the Chesapeake Police Department, which is the lead agency in the investigation.
Kosinksi said Tuesday night that the shooting took place inside the store. At least 50 people are believed to be inside the store when the shooting occurred, city officials said.
A man who identified himself as a shopper described the scene cell phone videoCBS News Chief State Affairs and Justice Correspondent Jeff Peggs reports.
“We heard a few shots inside … and we all ran out,” Jerome Basham said. “There is one person still ahead.”
Another man said in a video that he was one of the Walmart employees in the store when the shooting began, Peggs reported.
Kevin Harper said, “I literally walked out of the break room, right?” The gunshot rang out, probably no later than five minutes later.
Chesapeake Mayor Rick West issue a statement He said Wednesday morning he was “devastated by the senseless violence” and praised first responders.
West told CBS News that thinking about how to respond to mass shootings has become part of the leadership effort in cities across the country.
“The first feeling is nothing but fear because it’s here and I know what we’re going to have to deal with and what these poor families are going to deal with in the next few years,” West said.
Chesapeake is located in the coastal Hampton Roads region of southern Virginia, which includes the cities of Norfolk and Virginia Beach.
Kosinksi said a “unified site” was set up at the Chesapeake Convention Center, which a city Twitter account described as “for emergency contacts of immediate family members or people who may be in the building.”
The incident was the second mass shooting in the United States in recent days.Five people killed, 17 others wounded A suspect opened fire at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado early Sunday morning.
“Disgusted by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Chesapeake Walmart,” the Democratic senator said.mark warner of virginia tweets Wednesday morning.
Glenn Youngkin, the new Republican governor of Virginia, also weighed in, Say: “Our hearts are broken with the Chesapeake community this morning,” in a tweet, adding that “heinous acts of violence have no place in our community.”
Walmart issued a statement saying the company was “devastated by this tragic incident” and “praying for the people affected, the community and our associates.”
The retail giant said it “is working closely with law enforcement as we focus on supporting our employees.”
Senator Lillie Louise Lucas of Virginia, a Democrat representing the Chesapeake area, said in a statement tweet She was “heartbroken that the most recent mass shooting in the US happened at a Walmart in my area”.
“I won’t rest until we find a solution to end our nation’s gun violence epidemic,” she said.
“Sadly, just as families gather for Thanksgiving, our community is suffering another senseless incident of gun violence,” the U.S. Representative said. Bobby Scott of Virginia.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been more than 600 mass shootings in the United States this year, with at least 36 deaths.
Alan Fox, a criminologist at Northeastern University in Boston who has been collecting data on U.S. shootings for decades, reported the same numbers, saying that even before the Chesapeake Walmart incident, 2022 It was also a record year for such attacks.
“I’ve been studying mass killings for more than 40 years, and I’m very confident that we’ve never had a year with as many,” Fox said in an essay Monday at Northeastern University in the wake of the Colorado shooting. Say. .
Fox pointed to an “unprecedented surge” since early October alone, a period he said saw 13 deadly mass shootings.
“That’s an average of about two mass shootings per week,” Fox said.