Walmart gunman who killed six identified – live

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.

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.

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.”

A statement sent to The Independent by Walmart identifies the manager responsible for the shooting as Andre Bing.

While details of the tragic incident in our Chesapeake, Virginia store are still emerging, authorities have confirmed multiple fatalities. We are focused on doing everything we can to support our associates and their families at this time. The alleged shooter has been identified as Andre Bing. We can confirm that he was a Walmart associate. Andre’s position with the company was overnight team lead and he’s been employed with us since 2010. We are thankful for the local first responders and will continue to work with local law enforcement as they continue their investigation.

Employee Briana Tyler said workers had gathered in the break room as they typically did ahead of their shifts.

“I looked up, and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire,” she told ABC’s Good Morning America, adding that “multiple people” dropped to the floor.

“He didn’t say a word, he didn’t say anything at all,” she said.

Solesky confirmed that the shooter, who used a pistol, was a Walmart employee but did not give his name because his family had not been notified. The police chief could not confirm whether the victims were all employees.

Employee Jessie Wilczewski told Norfolk television station WAVY that she hid under the table and the shooter looked at her with his gun pointed at her, told her to go home and she left.

“It didn’t even look real until you could feel the … ‘pow-pow-pow,’ you can feel it,” Wilczewski said. “I couldn’t hear it at first because I guess it was so loud, I could feel it.”

Chesapeake Police have released more details of the scene they encountered at the Walmart and say that they continue to work with the victims’ families before releasing their identities and that they are currently investigating the employment state of the victims.

There were a total of seven fatalities. Three individuals, including the shooter, were located deceased in the break room of the store. One victim was located deceased toward the front of the store. Three other victims were transported to local hospitals for further treatment, but succumbed to their injuries.

At least six additional victims were transported to local hospitals for further medical treatment. One of these individuals is currently in critical condition. We continue to work with area hospitals to determine any additional injuries that may have self-reported.