Walmart shooting – live: Andre Bing identified as gunman who killed six coworkers in Chesapeake store

The Chesapeake Police Department has released the following timeline of what transpired at the city’s Walmart:

On 22 November 2022, at around 10.12pm, Chesapeake Police responded to the Walmart located at 1521 Sam’s Circle in reference to an active shooter inside the store. The first

officer arrived on the scene within two minutes, at around 10.14pm and officers entered the store at around 10.16pm.

Once inside the store, officers began locating and evacuating occupants of the store. Officers found several injured and deceased individuals during their search. At least six injured people were transported to local hospitals for further treatment. There was a total of seven fatalities. Three individuals, including the shooter, were located deceased in the break

room of the store. One victim was found deceased near the front of the store. Three other victims were transported to local hospitals for further treatment but succumbed to their injuries.

The shooter has been identified as 31-year-old Andre Bing of Chesapeake. Mr Bing was dead upon police arrival on the scene. At this time it is believed he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Mr Bing has been identified as an employee of Walmart. He was armed with one handgun and several magazines on his person. Mr Bing was dressed in civilian clothing and wore no type of armour or a ballistic vest.

At the time of the shooting, at least 50 people are believed to have been inside the store. Police are still trying to account for anyone who may have been at the store and witnessed the incident, but fled prior to police arrival.

The Chesapeake SWAT team executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence and with the help of Virginia State Police cleared the house. Investigators are actively working to learn more about the suspect’s background and what may have motivated the shooting.

The Walmart store is expected to be closed for several days while detectives continue to collect evidence and process the crime scene.

Chesapeake Detectives are actively communicating with the victims’ family members and will release the names of the victims once contact has been made with all family members. It is of the utmost importance that we put their families first and approach the release of their information with sensitivity.

President Joe Biden spoke with Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin this afternoon to offer his support and any federal assistance, per the White House press office.

You run out of words and you run out of emotions, writes Andrew Buncombe.

But alongside sympathy for the victims, are two other emotions that bubble up and will not go away. And they are anger and outrage.

In an official statement, City of Chesapeake authorities confirm Andre Bing’s identity as the shooter and that he was carrying one handgun and multiple magazines.

Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon released the following statement via LinkedIn.

The devastating news of last night’s shooting at our Chesapeake, VA store at the hands of one of our associates has hit our Walmart family hard. My heart hurts for our associates and the Chesapeake community who have lost or injured loved ones. We are here for them today and in the challenging days ahead they will have our support. We appreciate all of our associates, first responders, and local officials who are already on site helping offer support as we work together to navigate this tragedy.

A Democratic state senator in Virginia unloaded on her Republican foes during an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning after a deadly shooting erupted late Tuesday evening at a Walmart in her state.

As Virginians woke up on Wednesday morning to the news of yet another mass shooting in their state, state Senator Louise Lucas demanded that politicians cease offering their condolences for such heinous acts until a serious effort was made to pass gun violence prevention measures.

John Bowden reports.

Andre Bing, a 31-year-old from Chesapeake, is accused of opening fire inside the break room of the store on Sam’s Circle at around 10pm on Tuesday.

Six victims – including a 21-year-old coworker – were killed in the attack before the assailant allegedly shot and killed himself, police said.

The motive for the attack remains unclear but surviving employees have claimed that he had “issues” with other staff members.

Rachel Sharp reports.

In the wake of the Chesapeake shooting, social media statements from Virginia’s Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin and his lieutenant governor Winsome Earl-Sears condemned “senseless” and “heinous” acts of violence, but neither mentioned the word “shooting” or referenced the fact that a gun was used in the killings.

“Our hearts break with the community of Chesapeake this morning,” Mr Youngkin shared on his social media accounts on Wednesday. “I remain in contact with law enforcement officials throughout this morning and have made available any resources as this investigation moves forward. Heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities.”

Asked by The Independent whether his office intends to issue a formal statement on the shootings, his office shared a two-minute video from a press briefing, in which Mr Youngkin addressed the “heinous, senseless act of violence” in Chesapeake. In neither statement does he mention the type of violence or how the victims were killed, or how the gunman appeared to have killed himself.

His office released a formal order to lower flags at half-staff “in respect and memory of the victims of the Chesapeake shooting.”

A social media statement from Lt Governor Winsome Earl-Sears – who posed with an assault rifle in campaign ads and defended gun ownership at the National Rifle Association conference in Texas in the aftermath of the Uvalde massacre – said that “our hearts continue to grieve as we learn of more victims of senseless violence in Chesapeake.”

We mourn the many victims of fatal violence and suicide around the Commonwealth and our nation,” she added. “Our society is hurting. All life is precious. I commit to making mental health issues a priority of my office and will be working with the Governor, Attorney General, the General Assembly, and local leaders to address this crisis. Let us grieve and pray for these families as we begin to gather for Thanksgiving, as they will have one last chair at their tables.”