John Bacon, Thao Nguyen, Paul Bibeau, and Jorge L. Ortiz
CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Flags across Virginia were at half-staff Wednesday, hours after a store manager opened fire before an employee meeting at a Walmart, killing six people. a wave of deadly gun violence continued to sweep the nation.
Chesapeake police spokesman Leo Kosinski said officers who responded to a 911 call Tuesday night found several injured or hiding inside the store, and that rescue and tactical teams rolled in to provide “lifesaving measures.”
At least six survivors were taken to local hospitals, one in critical condition, city officials said. According to the police, there were about 50 people in the store at the time of the attack. Authorities have not said if any of those killed or injured were customers.
Police identified those killed as Chesapeake residents Brian Pendleton, 38; Kelly Pyle, 52; Lorenzo Gamble, 43; and Randy Blevins, 70, along with Tyneka Johnson, 22, of nearby Portsmouth. The name of the sixth victim, a 16-year-old boy, has not been released because of his age.
The shooting happened three days after the man with the rifle killed five people and wounded 17 at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
“You hope a day like this never comes, but we train for it, we practice, we talk about it, we learn lessons,” Chesapeake City Manager Chris Price said at a briefing Wednesday. “You hope these lessons are never used.”
Police Chief Mark Saleski said the first 911 call came in at 10:12 p.m., and the first responders arrived two minutes later. The gunman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and the gun was recovered at the scene, Saleski said. Police said the gunman had several stores with him.
The bodies of the two victims and the shooter were found in the store’s break room, city officials said. One body was found outside the front of the store, and three other victims were taken to local hospitals but died from their injuries.
Walmart identified the gunman as 31-year-old Andre Bing, a “gang leader” who had worked for the company since 2010. He was found dead in the lounge with two other people. Police said they searched his Chesapeake home and investigators are trying to find a motive for the attack.
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“He was looking right at me”
Staff member Briana Tyler told ABC’s “Good Morning America” that workers had gathered in the store’s break room at the start of their shift when the gunman, a manager, walked in and, without saying a word, began shooting indiscriminately.
“He literally started shooting all over the break room,” she said. “And I watched several people just fall to the floor, whether they were trying to dodge or they were hit… He was looking right at me, but luckily he missed my head by an inch or two.”
Tyler, who came to Walmart two months ago and had worked with Bing the night before, said she had been told to be careful with him because Bing had recorded employees without reason in the past, but she had never had a negative encounter with him.
Employee Jessie Wilchevski said HVALI-TV that she was hiding under a table when the shooter looked at her with a gun pointed at her and then told her to go home.
“It didn’t even seem real until you felt it … ‘pow pow pow.’ You can feel it,” Vilchevskii said. “I couldn’t hear him at first because it seemed to be really loud. I could feel it.”
Joetta Jeffrey told CNN she received text messages from her mother, who was inside the store when the shots rang out. Her mother, Betsy Umphlett, was not injured.
“I’m crying, I’m shaking,” Jeffrey said. “I was just talking to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving and then I got this message.”
A small crowd gathers for the vigil, shares the prayer of St
As many people are in the holiday mood and preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with their loved ones, a small crowd of 22 people gathered Wednesday night for a vigil at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Chesapeake, 4 miles from where the shooting happened.
Reverend Mark McCown-Sweet led the audience in the St. Francis Prayer, which begins, “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hate, let me sow love; where’s the offense, I’m sorry.”
McCown-Sweet said prayer brings a kind of balance that “allows us to be where we need to be” during difficult times.
It’s the “toughest time of the year” for those in retail
Antonio Garcia, 31, a truck driver from Houston, said he went to Walmart for supplies Tuesday shortly before 10 p.m. On his way back to his truck, he saw police cars converging in the parking lot and people exiting the building. He said he saw a man bleeding from the head and learned there had been a shooting.
“It’s crazy,” he said. “I talked to my wife. She said, “You must pray.”
Maralee Santiago, 31, a receptionist at Wayne’s Home, a furniture and mattress store near Walmart, called this time “the hardest time of the year” for people in retail and said workers regularly worry about their safety. She learned that a co-worker had been shopping at Walmart on Tuesday night, an hour before the shooting. “My heart dropped,” she said.
Biden, Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, offers support and condolences
President Joe Biden issued a statement thanking first responders and pledging support and assistance. He cited the gun reform law passed earlier this year and called for “more proactive action” to curb gun violence.
“Due to yet another horrific and senseless act of violence, there are even more empty tables this Thanksgiving,” the statement said. “There are now more families experiencing the worst loss and pain imaginable.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was assisting in the investigation. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who ordered flags to be flown at half-mast by Sunday, said he was making state resources available.
“Our hearts go out to the Chesapeake community this morning,” he said.
Mayor Rick W. West also praised the efforts of first responders in a statement posted on Twitter.
“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place in our city late last night,” West tweeted. “Chesapeake is a close-knit community and we are all shocked by this news.”
Anxiety and rumors spread within hours of the attack. At 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, city officials tweeted a message warning that “rumors of an active shooter at Target in Chesapeake are NOT TRUE. Please help us control the rumors by only reporting from this account.”
Comedian and former Saturday Night Live actor Jay Pharoah, a Chesapeake native, tweeted: “My heart goes out to my city and my anger grows at the excess of this action. Right in my backyard, right where I grew up. Chesapeake is strong and we will continue to be, but this has to stop. Too many innocents have died and not enough care to change that.”
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The Chesapeake shooting is the latest in a string of deadly attacks
The shooting in Chesapeake was the latest incident to rock the country in days massacre at a prominent LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Coloradowhere five people died and 17 were injured.
Earlier this month three University of Virginia football players were killed and two more people were hospitalized after a campus shooting — the same day four Idaho State University students were found dead with multiple stab wounds.
The database is maintained by USA TODAY, the Associated Press and Northeastern University which has been tracking mass killings since 2006, has 40 mass killings this year, down from 45 in all of 2019. The database identifies a mass killing of at least four people killed without regard to the killer.
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Families, friends search for information about loved ones at Walmart
Police tweeted that a family reunification area had been set up at the Chesapeake Convention Center.
Amanda Lambert, a Chesapeake Public School teacher with students who shop and work at Walmart, was concerned when she learned of the shooting Tuesday night.
“This is the second time in a week and a half that I’ve had to wonder if my students are OK because the former students (are at the University of Virginia, the site of the recent attack),” Lambert, 42, said.
It was a relief to see her students back at school Wednesday, but Lambert said she felt anger: “I don’t see anything changing.”
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Walmart is the site of a mass shooting again
Walmart at El Paso, Texaswas the scene of one of the country’s deadliest attacks in 2019, when a gunman who police said targeted Mexicans killed 22 people.
Walmart released a statement on Twitter Early Wednesday: “We are shocked by this tragic event at our store in Chesapeake, Virginia. We are praying for those affected, the community and our associates. We are working closely with law enforcement and are focused on supporting our associates.”
Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia tweeted that he was “saddened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake.”
State Sen. Louise Lucas echoed Warner’s sentiments, tweeting that she was “absolutely devastated that the latest mass shooting in America happened at a Walmart in my neighborhood.”
Where is Chesapeake, Virginia?
Chesapeake, Virginia’s second-largest city with a population of about 250,000, is 100 miles southeast of the capital, Richmond. The city is located on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, just a few miles from the Virginia Beach oceanfront and downtown Norfolk.
“Chesapeake offers an endless array of outdoor activities, great shopping, phenomenal food and beautiful wildlife,” according to the city’s website.
Contribution: Charles Ventura, USA TODAY; Associated Press
