Police spokesperson gives update on Walmart shooting
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A chilling “death note” was recovered from a phone belonging to the suspected gunman who killed six people inside a Virginia Walmart store days before the Thanksgiving holiday.
In the alleged document released by Chesapeake officials on Friday morning, Andre Bing says he was “harassed by idiots” who compared him to the cannibal serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.
The note includes his apologies to God and lambasts coworkers he believes bullied and betrayed him.
Police also reported that the 9mm handgun firearm used in the attack was purchased from a local store on the morning of 22 November, hours before he fatally shot six colleagues and turned the gun on himself.
Witnesses have described how the horrifying events unfolded in the employee break room as investigators continue to piece together a motive.
President Joe Biden said the shooting, as well as the massacre inside a Colorado Springs LGBT+ club over the weekend, have underscored the need to outlaw “sick” assault weapons like the AR-style rifle used in that attack.
Key PointsShow latest update
1669555409Survivor recounts chilling moments after the violence
Speaking with CNN, mother-of-one Jessica Wilczewski said that the gunman held the weapon to her forehead before she managed to leave the Walmart breakroom where the violence unfolded.
“It’s horrible because it doesn’t stop. It doesn’t stop replaying when you leave the scene, it doesn’t stop hurting as much, it doesn’t stop,” Ms Wilczewski told the network.
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 13:23
1669554000Gunman claims he was “betrayed by coworkers”
Suspect Andre Bing said in a manifesto released on Friday that he was teased by his coworkers.
“Sorry God, I’ve failed you, this was not your fault but my own. I failed to listen to the groans of the holy spirit which made me a poor representation of You,” Bing wrote in a “death note” found in his phone.
Bing claimed he “was harassed by idiots with low intelligence and a lack of wisdom,” adding that his “dignity was completely taken away beyond repair by my phone getting hacked.”
The Independent‘s Rachel Sharp has the story:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 13:00
1669550400Walmart gunman Andre Bing had ‘kill list’ of colleagues
A printed list of names of employees, their shift hours, their departments and their work duties was discovered in the trash outside the gunman’s home on Thursday, reported Dailymail.com.
The list included the names of some of the victims circled in pen, including 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson who died in the massacre.
The list was reportedly turned over to authorities who have not commented on the finding.
The Independent has reached out to the Chesapeake officials for comment.
Rachel Sharp has the story:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 12:00
1669546800Glenn Youngkin to propose mental health legislation
Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin said in the wake of the mass shootings that his administration is planning to propose legislation to the General Assembly to bolster mental health resources.
Mr Youngkin said the bill would proe more resources, address staffing challenges and recognise people undergoing a mental health crisis, according to KPVI.
“It’s extremely important,” the governor said.
“We know that we have been in a mental health crisis and there are some very immediate actions that we need to take.”
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 11:00
1669543200Sixteen-year-old among fatal victims in Walmart shooting
Fernando Chavez Jr, 16, known to family and friends as Fernando Jesus Chavez was the youngest victim killed in the Chesapeake massacre.
A crowd gathered at the Sam’s Circle Walmart on Thursday to pay tribute to the teenager who family and friends described as “humble and intelligent”.
“Fernando was such a nice kid, he would say hi to anybody,” said Joshua Trejo, 17, a friend since middle school. He added that he and Fernando were looking forward to working together at a new job, reported the Virginian Pilot newspaper.
He was quoted as saying that he had texted Chavez several times before he heard from his friend’s brother that he had been killed.
The Independent has the story:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 10:00
1669539600The fatal victims of the Walmart massacre in Virginia
Six employees were killed in the attack on the Chesapeake, Virginia, branch of Walmart on 22 November 2022.
Night shift team leader Andre Bing walked into the break room where 14 employees were meeting shortly after 10pm and opened fire with a pistol. He then turned the gun on himself.
Those killed were Lorenzo Gamble, 43; Brian Pendleton, 38; Kellie Pyle, 52; Randall Blevins, 70; Tyneka Johnson, 22; and Fernando Chavez Jr, 16.
At least six other surviving victims were taken to local hospitals for further treatment, with two still hospitalised as of Friday.
The Independent’s Oliver O’Connell has the story:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 09:00
1669536000Former colleague says Andre Bing acted strangely sometimes
One former employee who worked under him but left the store six months ago, said: “I never saw this coming, not from a million miles away.”
“He was always a little eccentric, a little hyper, but pretty much easygoing, carefree. Sometimes he could be a little hard to get along with, some associates didn’t like him. But I don’t think they bullied him.”
The man told WAVY-TV he did not suspect Bing suffered from any specific kind of anger problems.
“I mean, from what I saw, he was a good guy, but I’ve heard that he had issues, and they tried to talk him through his issues,” he said.
Read The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe full coverage:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 08:00
1669532400Calls for gun safety amid mass shootings
Officials in that state have come under scrutiny over that state’s so-called “red flag” provisions that allow families and law enforcement agencies to petition a judge to remove firearms from people believe to be dangers to themselves and others.
President Joe Biden has called on Congress several times this week to renew a federal ban on assault weapons like the AR-style rifle used in the Colorado attack and in several high-profile mass shootings that have killed dozens.
The weapon used by the Virginia gunman was a 9mm handgun.
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 07:00
1669528800The weapon was legally purchased, polica reveal
Chesapeake Police said in a statement on Friday that the gunman used a 9mm gun in the killings.
The weapon was legally purchased from an unspecified local store on the morning of the rampage on 22 November.
Bing had no criminal history, police said. A box of ammunition, the gun’s receipt and paperwork were found at his home.
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 06:00
1669525200Andre Bing’s colleagues say he had ‘issues’
Several of Bing’s colleagues at the store in Chesapeake, Virginia, have spoken out to reveal that he had a lot of “issues” with other staff members and had displayed threatening behaviour in the run-up to the shooting.
Joshua Johnson, a former Walmart employee who worked as a maintenance worker at the store until 2019, said that the 31-year-old had given a harrowing warning about what he could do if he ever lost his job.
“He said if he ever got fired from his job he would retaliate and people would remember who he was,” Mr Johnson told CNN.
The Independent’s Rachel Sharp has more:
Andrea Blanco27 November 2022 05:00
