Walmart Hit with $20 Million Lawsuit from Store Shooting Survivor
Former Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart store employee Sarah Merlo filed a $20 million lawsuit against the retailer, along with the estate of Andre Bing, the deceased perpetrator of a mass shooting at the store in November 2022. That shooting left six dead and four others injured.
Merlo was among those injured, and her lawyers claim that following the shooting, she has had to “undergo multiple surgeries and faces a lifetime of medical care from these physical injuries and emotional distress.”
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Merlo’s suit alleges that Walmart was aware of multiple complaints about Bing’s “erratic, disturbing, violent and harassing behavior,” including one from the plaintiff. The lawsuit claims that Bing directed some of that harassment toward Merlo leading up to the shooting and made “veiled threats of active shooter situations to other employees.”
Merlo also alleges that Bing’s threatening behavior was known to Walmart for more than two years prior to the 2022 Thanksgiving week shooting. The suit claims Walmart conducted an investigation of the claims against Bing, but “did nothing at the time and then failed to monitor or respond to additional evidence of Bing’s instability and violent tendencies.”
Merlo’s lawsuit describes how Bing shot her in the face as she hid behind a table, then shot her six additional times as she crawled away.
“The entire Walmart family remains heartbroken by everyone impacted. We continue to wish Ms. Merlo well in her recovery,” Walmart said in a statement in response to the suit. “We are reviewing the complaint and will be responding as appropriate with the court.”
This lawsuit comes on the heels of a series of claims filed last month by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Walmart. One filed in West Virginia alleges a Walmart Supercenter manager in that state repeatedly sexually harassed female employees and fired one in retaliation for reporting the harassment.
“We don’t tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind and want all our associates to feel respected,” the retailer said via a statement on the suit. “We take this seriously and the claims raised to our Ethics Department were investigated and were not substantiated. We will respond as appropriate once we are served with the Complaint.”
The EEOC has filed four additional lawsuits against Walmart this year related to American Disabilities Act violations. One alleged a skills assessment screened out disabled workers, two accused the retailer of unlawfully firing employees who missed work due to their disabilities and another said Walmart failed to accommodate two deaf workers in Olathe, Kansas.
In a move to combat crime, Walmart is reopening a Georgia store with a police substation inside. It’s also being investigated for links to prison labor in Cambodia.
