School, college and other closings for Monday

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

The youngest victim of the Walmart Supercenter shooting in Virginia was 16-years-old.  

that Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins, and Tyneka Johnson were also killed in the attack. Police are withholding the name of the teenager due to him being a minor. Four other people were hospitalized. 

It's still unclear which of the deceased might've been shoppers or were employees at the store. 

The police identified Andre Bing, 31, earlier Wednesday as the gunman.

He had been employed by Walmart as an overnight team lead since 2010, the company confirmed.

Bing was allegedly armed with one handgun and had multiple magazines on him when he was found. He was dressed in civilian clothing and was not wearing any type of armor or a ballistic vest, the city and police said. Three of the deceased were found in the store's break room. Bing was found at the scene dead from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police, the city added.

Another person was found dead near the front of the store, the city said. The other three victims were transported to local hospitals, but succumbed to their injuries. 

Police say they arrived on the scene at 10:14 p.m. ET on Monday, two minutes after the first 911 call. Officers entered the store at around 10:16 p.m. and had officially cleared the store by 11:20 p.m. 

A spokesperson for Norfolk General Hospital said they were treating at least five patients following the shooting.

"We are focused on doing everything we can to support our associates and their families at this time. We are thankful for the local first responders and will continue to work with local law enforcement as they continue their investigation," Walmart said in a statement.

Stressing that it could take days to investigate, police said they couldn't say whether the shooter had been targeting anyone. 

At the time shooting broke out, at least 50 people are believed to have been inside the store during what are normally popular pre-Thanksgiving shopping hours. Investigators say they are still trying to account for anyone who may have been at the store and witnessed the incident, but fled before officers arrived. 

Police are still working to learn more about the suspect's background and what may have motivated the shooting. 

The store will remain closed for several days as detectives comb the site, collect evidence and process the crime scene.

The attack comes just days after a shooting in Colorado 

The shooting came three days after a person opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17. Last week, a former college football player shot three of his teammates on the University of Virginia campus. 

And since 2019, Americans have witnessed at least five deadly shootings inside supermarkets, including one that killed 10 shoppers, most of them Black, 

Tuesday's shooting also brought back memories of 

a 2019 shooting in neighboring Virginia Beach that left 12 dead. 

Then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, responded by 

proposing a range of gun reform measures for Virginia

After a backlash from pro-rights groups, 

including a high-profile 2020 rally of thousands of armed protestors

, the measures saw mixed success. New rules for background checks and limits on the number of firearms a person can purchase went into effect last year. 

"Chesapeake Police SWAT Team executed a search warrant at the suspect's residence," Solenksy added. "With the help of Virginia State Police, we cleared the house. We have reason to believe that there's no risk to the public at this time."

 echoed that sentiment, saying in a tweet that "heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities" and that he was in touch with law enforcement officers. 

Chesapeake Mayor Rick West said in a statement he was "devastated by the senseless act of violence" and described his city as a "tightknit community." 

Chesapeake is a city of about a quarter million people along the southern Virginia coast. 

Sarah McCammon reported from Chesapeake; Emily Olson reported from Washington, D.C. 

Crime, Law and Justice

Disasters

Sarah McCammon

Author

Emily Olson

Jaclyn Diaz

A Walmart employee opened fire in a Virginia store late Tuesday during what are normally popular pre-Thanksgiving shopping hours. It's the second high-profile mass killing in a handful of days. 

Police release the names of the victims in the Virginia Walmart shooting

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox