Police spokesperson provides update on Walmart shooting
A 16-year-old has been identified as one of the victims of the Chesapeake Walmart store shooting.
Fernando Chavez Jr and five others were shot and killed and at least four others were injured when gunman Andre Bing opened fire on the department store on Tuesday.
A chilling “manifesto” was found on the shooter’s cell phone, where he laid out the motive for the mass shooting in Virginia ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.
Witnesses have described how the horrific events unfolded 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 of being “harassed” by co-workers.
A former colleague also said he was paranoid that the government was watching him and that he didn’t like being recorded. A witness claims to have seen him target some people during the attack.
President Joe Biden said yesterday that the shooting, along with the massacre at an LGBT+ club in Colorado Springs over the weekend, underscored the need to ban “sick” assault weapons with no social value.
Were there warning signs in the Walmart shooting?
A Walmart employee claimed the co-worker who allegedly carried out a mass shooting at the Chesapeake, Va. store had “issues” with some of his other co-workers and was “laughing” as he opened fire on his victims.
The shooter, who has since been named Andre Bing, carried out the attack with a pistol before turning the gun on himself, police said.
A witness, who has not been named, told local network 10 On Your Side that the shooting unfolded as 14 employees sat in a meeting room about to start their shifts.
Rachel Sharp has more details.
Josh MarcusNovember 25, 2022 10:20 a.m.
Family and friends remember 16-year-old victim
Fernando Chavez Jr, 16, was among six people fatally shot at a Walmart department store in Chesapeake, Virginia on Tuesday night.
More than a hundred of the teenager’s friends and family gathered at Sam’s Circle Walmart yesterday to remember him at a vigil.
“Fernando was such a nice guy, he would say hello to anyone,” said Joshua Trejo, his friend since middle school. The Virginia Pilot.
Alisha Rahaman SarkarNovember 25, 2022 9:50 a.m.
Andre Bing: What we know about the suspected shooter in the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting
Andre Bing, a 31-year-old Chesapeake man, is charged with opening fire inside the Sam’s Circle store break room around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Six Walmart employees were killed in the attack, the motive for which remains unclear, but surviving employees claimed he had “problems” with other staff.
Walmart confirmed the shooter’s name in a statement to The Independent Wednesday morning. The police made their official confirmation a few hours later.
Josh MarcusNovember 25, 2022 9:20 a.m.
The motive of the shooter behind the mass shootings is still unclear
Police in Chesapeake, Va., say they spent Thanksgiving Day investigating why Walmart supervisor Andre Bing shot and killed his six co-workers before turning the gun on himself.
“We are actively researching a motive at this time and want to make sure we fully understand it before releasing it,” Chesapeake Police Department spokesman Leo Kosinski said.
Alisha Rahaman SarkarNovember 25, 2022 08:50
Who are the victims of the Chesapeake Walmart shooting?
Night shift leader Andre Bing walked into the break room where 14 employees were meeting shortly after 10 p.m. and opened fire with a pistol. He then turned the gun on himself.
Those killed were Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson. The sixth victim, a 16-year-old boy from Chesapeake, has not been publicly named because he is underage.
At least six other surviving victims were taken to local hospitals for further care, three of whom remained hospitalized as of Wednesday morning.
Here’s what we know about those whose lives were ripped away shortly before Thanksgiving.
Olivier O’Connell has the full report.
Josh MarcusNovember 25, 2022 08:20
Biden rails against ‘sick’ semi-automatic weapons
President Joe Biden has denounced the proliferation of semi-automatic weapons and the failure of some parts of the country to enforce so-called “red flag laws” intended to keep people who pose a danger to themselves and others.
Mr. Biden made the remarks on Thanksgiving in Nantucket after delivering pumpkin pies to firefighters. The president’s remarks came after a mass shooting in Colorado Springs killed five people at Club Q, a gay bar, and a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, left six dead.
“The idea that we still allow the purchase of semi-automatic weapons is sick,” he told reporters.
“Just sick. It has no redeeming social value. Zero. None. Not a single solitary justification for it except profit for the gun manufacturers.
Alisha Rahaman SarkarNovember 25, 2022 07:50
16-year-old identified as one of the victims
Hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to a 16-year-old victim of the Walmart shooting in Chesapeake, Va., who has been identified by authorities.
Fernando Chavez Jr, known to family and friends as Fernando Jesus Chavez, was killed on Tuesday, along with five other victims.
A crowd gathered at Sam’s Circle Walmart on Thursday to pay their respects to the teenager who family and friends have described as “humble and intelligent”.
reports Maroosha Muzaffar.
Alisha Rahaman SarkarNovember 25, 2022 07:39
Everything We Know About the Walmart Chesapeake Mass Shooting
The incident took place just after 10 p.m. Tuesday at the Sam’s Circle Superstore.
It comes just days before Thanksgiving, when shoppers were likely stocking up on goods ahead of the holiday season.
Rachel Sharp has the latest information.
Josh MarcusNovember 25, 2022 07:20
Walmart shooting death toll expected to rise
The death toll from the mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., is likely to climb as a 23-year-old store worker is expected to have his life support device turned off.
Blake Williams is currently fighting for his life on a ventilator and is unable to breathe on his own after being shot by suspected shooter and fellow Andre Bing during Tuesday night’s massacre.
Alisha Rahaman SarkarNovember 25, 2022 06:50
TikToker Raises Over $170,000 to Retire Walmart Employee: ‘Life Shouldn’t Be This Difficult’
A TikToker has raised over $172,000 to donate to a Walmart employee so she can pay off her mortgage and retire.
Devan Bonagura, who goes by the username @dbon973_ on the app, caught the attention of TikTok users when he shared a 15-second video of an elderly Walmart employee named Nola.
In a clip Bonagura shared Nov. 3, he filmed Nola, who wore a Walmart employee vest and tag, staring at her knees as she sat in the Walmart break room where he said that ‘she worked.
“Life shouldn’t be this hard…” Bonagura wrote in a text caption to the short video, before adding in the caption, “I feel terrible.”
Chelsea Ritschel has more details.
Josh MarcusNovember 25, 2022 06:20