Six people killed by employee in Chesapeake, Virginia, store
An employee of a Walmart store in Chesapeake, Virginia, opened fire on colleagues Tuesday evening, killing six people and hurting at least six more at the retail outlet before turning the gun on himself, officials said Wednesday.
One of the deceased victims was identified by her family as Tyneka Johnson, 22, CBS News Justice and Homeland Security reporter Nicole Sganga reports. Johnson had only worked for Walmart for a couple of months and was saving up for her first car and apartment.
In a statement, Walmart identified the gunman as Andre Bing. His position was “overnight team lead” and he started working for Walmart in 2010, the company said.
Officers were dispatched to an active threat situation at the Walmart Supercenter at 10:12 p.m. local time, Chesapeake police spokesperson Leo Kosinski told reporters at the scene Tuesday evening.
On Wednesday morning, Police Chief Mark Solesky said officers were on the scene within two minutes, entered the store two minutes after that and within just about an hour they had cleared the store and located all of the victims.
Two victims and the gunman were found dead in the store’s break room, city officials said Wednesday afternoon. Another victim was found dead toward the front of the store. Three died at area hospitals.
At least six other people were receiving treatment at hospitals, and one was in critical condition, the city said.
Police were not seeking anyone else in connection with the shooting.
Solesky said the gunman died of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. He said a pistol was used in the shooting.
The FBI’s office in Norfolk, Virginia, confirmed that the agency was providing assistance to the Chesapeake Police Department, which was the lead agency on the investigation.
The shooting occurred inside the store, Kosinksi said Tuesday evening. According to Walmart’s website, the store was open to customers at the time of the shooting.
A man who said he was a shopper described the scene in cellphone video, CBS News chief national affairs and Justice correspondent Jeff Pegues reports.
“We heard several shots inside … and all ran out,” Jeromy Basham said. “There was a person down that’s still down out front.”
