What we know about the Chesapeake Walmart shooting that left seven dead

A gunman opened fire at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., on Tuesday night, killing six people and injuring at least six others before turning the gun on himself.

Authorities are still investigating the attack, which comes just days after a mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Colorado and a little more than a week after another deadly shooting at the University of Virginia.

Here’s what we know about the Walmart shooting in Virginia.

Most of the victims were employees of Walmart

Five of the six victims who died in shooting were employees of the Walmart off Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake, the second largest city in Virginia.

The sixth person was a 16-year-old whose name is being withheld because he is a minor.

Lorenzo Gamble, 43, had worked at the Walmart for 15 years. He enjoyed spending time with his two sons, aged 10 and 19, and was a Washington Commanders fan, according to The Washington Post.

Brian Pendleton, 38, was a maintenance employee who was loved at the store. One former employee told The New York Times there was not a “bad bone in his body.”

 The other victims were Kellie Pyle, 52; Randall Blevins, 70; and 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson.

The suspect was a Walmart manager

The suspect, identified Wednesday as 31-year-old Andre Bing, had served as an overnight shift lead at the Walmart since 2010.

Bing was also a resident of Chesapeake.

He allegedly pulled out a handgun around 10 p.m. on Tuesday night and opened fire inside a break room at the Walmart, shortly before an employee meeting was about to start.

Employees say shooting was random

Briana Tyler, a Walmart employee, told local news outlet WTVR that Bing was shooting wildly around the room at anybody he could find.

“He was just shooting all throughout the room. It didn’t matter who he hit. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t look at anybody in any specific type of way,” she said.

Jessica Wilczewski, 28, told Norfolk, Va., station WAVY that eventually Bing briefly left the room and employees scattered to run.

Wilczewksi said she was hiding under a table when Bing returned, while two other women also remained. Bing allegedly shot one of the women and “was laughing,” Wilczewksi recounted to WAVY.

“I opened my eyes and the gun was pointed at me and I’m crying and he looked at me and told me to get out from under the table,” she said. “So I did and then he took the gun out of my face and was pointing it at the ceiling and he said, ‘Jessie go home.'”

When officers arrived just minutes after the shooting started, Bing had already turned the gun on himself and committed suicide, according to police.

2022 is the second highest year for mass shootings

According to an Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University database, there have been 40 mass killings this year, defined as when four or more people are killed in one incident in a 24-hour window, excluding the shooter.

That’s the second highest number since 2006, with 2019 holding the record at 45 mass killings.

Fatal public shootings get the most attention, but those make up a small fraction of mass killings. Although there has been a spike in those shootings in the past few years, they have remained relatively flat since the mid-2000s, according to the database.

Mass killings most often take place in a home, involving domestic and familial violence.