Seven including gunman dead after Walmart ‘employee opened fire in break room’ of Chesapeake store
At least seven people, including the gunman, were found dead following a shooting inside a Walmart department store in Chesapeake, Virginia on Tuesday night.
Chesapeake Police Department spokesperson Leo Kosinski said he doesn’t believe responding officers fired shots, but it was unclear whether the shooter was dead of a self-inflicted gunshot.
Officers believe that the shooter was an employee or a former employee who opened fire inside the Walmart store, a law enforcement source told CNN.
More than 40 emergency vehicles were rushed to the Walmart outlet on Battlefield Boulevard after a 911 call was made at 10.12 pm local time on Tuesday.
At least five injured people were rushed to the Norfolk General Hospital for treatment, Sentara Healthcare spokesperson Mike Kafka said.
An employee who worked at the Chesapeake outlet for 20 years was rushed to the hospital with bullet injuries, his kin told WAVY News. The employee called his family around 10.18pm local time informing them that he’d been shot.
The law enforcement spokesperson said when the police responded to the scene, they realised that it was an active shooting situation and changed their tactics accordingly. "Over the course of next 30-40 minutes, we were able to find multiple fatalities and multiple injured parties."
Police said a family reunification site has been set up at the Chesapeake Conference Centre. This site is only for “immediate family members or the emergency contact of those who may have been in the building”, they said.
Walmart in a statement early on Wednesday said “we are shocked at this tragic event” at their Chesapeake outlet.
The company said: “We’re praying for those impacted, the community and our associates.” “We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”
Virginia state senator Louise Lucas in a tweet late on Tuesday said she was “absolutely heartbroken” that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in her district of Chesapeake.
She added: “I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives.”
Senator Mark Warner said he was “sickened” by the reports of the mass shooting and will be “monitoring the developments closely”.
“Sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake,” Mr Warner said in a tweet. “In the meantime, I urge all those in the community to listen to guidance from local law enforcement and stay away from the scene.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is reportedly working with Chesapeake Police in the probe.
Tuesday’s shooting took place just three days after five people were killed and over a dozen people suffered injuries when a gunman opened fire at an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado springs.
