Walmart mass shooter reportedly left a manifesto on his phone
A disgruntled manager who opened fire on his own staff at a Walmart store left notes in his phone about his sick plan, according to police.
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Killer Andre Bing reportedly had a manifesto on his phone — as well as a “list” of colleagues he wanted to target when he gunned down six people at a Walmart store in Virginia, US.
A police source told WAVY News that the manifesto was found after Bing, 31, died by suicide following Tuesday night’s bloodshed in the busy Chesapeake store — just days before Americans celebrated Thanksgiving.
In the document, Bing complained about recent, unspecified changes to his employment status and accused other employees of harassing him over it, the source told the local TV station.
First responders also “found a list near the shooter’s body of employees he presumably wanted to target,” one of the station’s reporters tweeted.
It would appear to back claims by one new staffer, Jessie Wilczewski, who told the same outlet she believed the gunman had carefully planned the massacre.
She suggested Bing hunted people he “had issues” with — and spared her life, telling her during the rampage: “Jessie, go home.”
The City of Chesapeake earlier 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 Bing opened fire inside the Chesapeake superstore at 10pm on Tuesday (local time).
Witnesses said Bing, a 31-year-old overnight manager, started shooting his colleagues in a meeting room while they were waiting to be given their assignments for their shifts.
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.
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.”
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.
“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 Samâs 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.
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.
— BrooklynDad_Defiant!â®ï¸ (@mmpadellan) November 23, 2022
He says the Manager was the shooter, and he just barely avoided the shooting in the break room himself.pic.twitter.com/niuGn4xIZL
In the hours afterwards, news footage showed a major police presence around the Walmart, which is located about 240 km 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. Iâll be monitoring developments closely.
— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) November 23, 2022
In the meantime, I urge all those in the community to listen to guidance from local law enforcement and stay away from the scene.
‘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.
Lifeline: 13 11 14, lifeline.org.au
Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467, suicidecallbackservice.org.au
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Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800, kidshelpline.com.au
SANE: 1800 18 7263, saneforums.org
Headspace: 1800 650 890, headspace.org.au
MensLine Australia: 1300 789 978, mensline.org.au