Walmart massacre: Victims identified after mass shooting at Chesapeake store

The six victims gunned down when their manager opened fire have been identified amid reports the gunman had a list of targets. Warning: Graphic

A gunman shot and killed multiple people in a Walmart store late on November 22, 2022 in the US state of Virginia, city officials said, adding that the shooter too is dead. Picture: Robyn Beck / AFP.

The victims of a mass shooting at a Walmart store in the US state of Virginia have been revealed amid reports police found a “target list” belonging to the gunman.

The City of Chesapeake identified five of the victims killed as Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins, and Tyneka Johnson.

The sixth deceased victim’s name and photo was withheld due to his age, officials said.

The victims died when co-worker Andre Bing opened fire inside the Chesapeake superstore at 10pm on Tuesday (local time).

Witnesses said Bing, a 31-year-old overnight manager, opened fire on his colleagues in a meeting room while they were waiting to be given their assignments for their shifts.

He then turned the pistol on himself, authorities said.

Walmart worker Jalon Jones, 24, was among those injured in the attack. Picture: Facebook

Tyneka Johnson, 22, was tragically shot dead while working a shift at Walmart. Picture: Facebook

When police searched his body, they reportedly found a list of the colleagues he wished to target, according to Virginia outlet WAVY.

It is not yet clear if the massacre victims were on the list that was reportedly found.

It was America’s second mass shooting in four days after a weekend gun attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado that left five people dead.

Police Chief Mark Solesky told reporters the motive behind the country’s latest outburst of gun violence was not yet known.

Walmart confirmed in a statement that Bing, who was armed with one handgun and multiple magazines, was an overnight team leader, employed with the company since 2010.

In the aftermath of the horror attack, Ms Johnson’s family issued a desperate appeal to find the 22-year-old.

One relative later confirmed her death to 7NewsDC, describing her as “the nicest person, who never bothered anyone”.

Four other injured people remain in hospital following the rampage.

Andre Bing, 31, has been identified as the Walmart shooter. Picture: Supplied

Andre Bing worked at the Chesapeake store.

Walmart worker Jalon Jones, 24, is in a critical condition at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after being shot by the gunman.

His mother, Kimberly Shupe, told 13News Now she was thankful that her son was alive.

“I’m grateful,” she said. “To hear him say that he was fighting and that he actually felt he was leaving, but he just kept coming back, that’s real.

“I’m very enthused that he pushed through that.”

According to his mother, Mr Jones was shot in the break room, and then shot again as he began to run to the front of the Walmart store for help.

“The people you love in your life, just make sure you always let them know you love them,” Ms Shupe told 13News Now.

“Because you just never know when they walk out the door if you’ll ever see them again.”

Multiple people were shot and killed inside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, authorities said. Picture: WAVY-TV 10

A memorial is seen at the site of a fatal shooting in a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia. Picture: AFP

An employee named Briana Tyler earlier described scenes of terror as a store manager entered a staff break room, and opened fire.

“He wasn’t aiming at anybody specifically,” Tyler told ABC’s Good Morning America program. “He just literally started shooting throughout the entire break room and I watched multiple people just drop down to the floor, whether they were trying to duck for cover or they were hit.” She said the gunman looked right at her and fired but missed by mere inches. “He didn’t say a word, he didn’t say anything at all,” Tyler said.

US President Joe Biden called the attack senseless and said “there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving.”

One of the workers who witnessed the slaughter told WAVY that she heard the gunman laughing at one point during the attack.

The woman, who was on her fifth day on the job, told the station that there were 14 employees in the meeting room when gunfire erupted.

Chesapeake Police Department officer Leo Kosinski had earlier told reporters that there had been “multiple fatalities” at the megastore, which local media reported was busy with holiday shoppers.

A member of the FBI pushes a shopping trolley at the site of the massacre. Picture: AFP

“It was wild. It was a manager – one of the managers,” an employee in a Walmart uniform said in a Facebook livestream, explaining that he narrowly avoided being killed in the rampage.

“He killed the girl in there and everything. He came in and started spraying. I’m sorry for the victims.

“I just left the break room … the manager come in there and started capping people up in there, started shooting. Sadly, we lost a few of our associates.”

#BREAKING Chesapeake police confirm they responded to the Sam’s Circle Walmart for an active shooter. Multiple people have died and multiple people are injured. @WAVY_Newspic.twitter.com/wF6faU4swL

— Michelle Wolf (@MichelleWolfTV) November 23, 2022

Emergency calls were first made while the store was still open, with rapid response officers and tactical teams entering “immediately” after arriving on the scene, Mr Kosinski said.

Local media reported that witnesses said the shooting began at the back of the store and that at least five wounded had been rushed to the hospital.

The shooter was a team leader, Walmart has confirmed. Picture: AFP

One person also was reportedly found dead outside the front entrance.

A spokesperson for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital confirmed to WAVY that five people were being treated there.

An employee from the Chesapeake, VA Walmart where the latest shooting occurred shares his experience.

He says the Manager was the shooter, and he just barely avoided the shooting in the break room himself.pic.twitter.com/niuGn4xIZL

— BrooklynDad_Defiant!☮️ (@mmpadellan) November 23, 2022

In the hours afterwards, news footage showed a major police presence around the Walmart, which is located about 240 kms southeast of the US capital Washington.

Mr Kosinski said officers and investigators were carefully sweeping the store and securing the area.

Walmart, the largest retailer in the US, issued a statement early Wednesday saying: “We are shocked at this tragic event.” The company added that it was “praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”

Sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake. I’ll be monitoring developments closely.

In the meantime, I urge all those in the community to listen to guidance from local law enforcement and stay away from the scene.

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) November 23, 2022

‘SENSELESS VIOLENCE’

Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas, who represents the Chesapeake region, said she was “absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place … in my district.”

“I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives,” she wrote on Twitter.

The shooting occurred at a major retailer less than 48 hours before Americans nationwide celebrate Thanksgiving.

“Tragically, our community is suffering from yet another incident of senseless gun violence just as families are gathering for Thanksgiving,” tweeted Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia.

The incident occurred three nights after a gunman in Colorado, in the country’s Rocky Mountain west, opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring at least 18, in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime.

Authorities said that suspect, identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, had used a long rifle at the club, where partygoers were marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which pays tribute to trans people targeted in violent attacks.

Gun violence occurs at an alarming rate in the US, where more than 600 mass shootings have occurred so far in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

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