Seven killed in Walmart in latest mass shooting in US
US President Joe Biden laments loss of lives in ‘another senseless shooting’
23 November 2022 - 17:57
byJay Paul and Nathan Layne
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Chesapeake — A Walmart employee killed six people and wounded several others before fatally shooting himself at a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, authorities said on Wednesday, in the latest episode of gun violence in the US.
The shooter, who has not been identified, used a pistol in the shooting late on Tuesday, wounding at least four people in addition to the fatalities, Chesapeake police chief Mark Solesky said at a news conference.
The gunman was an employee at the store, police say
The attack follows the shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub on Saturday, the latest incident prompted another round of condemnations by public officials and calls by activists for tighter gun control.
President Joe Biden lamented the loss of lives in the shooting, noting in a statement on Wednesday that “yet another horrific and senseless act of violence” happened on the eve of Thanksgiving.
“Heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities,” Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin said on Twitter. The Republican has faced stepped-up calls for policies to address gun violence after three University of Virginia students were shot to death earlier this month.
In addition to seven confirmed dead, including the shooter, four people were being treated at hospitals in the area, just south of Norfolk, Solesky said.
One employee told ABC News that the shooter was a manager at the store.
“I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire,” Briana Tyler said, according to ABC.
It is not the first mass shooting at a Walmart, which has thousands of stores across the US.
At a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in August 2019, 23 people were killed in a mass shooting near the US-Mexico border in an act described as domestic terrorism by law enforcement. It was also the deadliest attack on the Hispanic community in modern times. Patrick Wood Crusius, then 21, from Allen, Texas, was arrested in the shooting and he left behind a manifesto with white nationalist and anti-immigrant themes.
Walmart in a statement on Wednesday said it was “shocked” at the violence at the Chesapeake store and it was working closely with law enforcement.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Seven killed in Walmart in latest mass shooting in US
US President Joe Biden laments loss of lives in ‘another senseless shooting’
Chesapeake — A Walmart employee killed six people and wounded several others before fatally shooting himself at a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, authorities said on Wednesday, in the latest episode of gun violence in the US.
The shooter, who has not been identified, used a pistol in the shooting late on Tuesday, wounding at least four people in addition to the fatalities, Chesapeake police chief Mark Solesky said at a news conference.
The gunman was an employee at the store, police say
The attack follows the shooting of five people at a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub on Saturday, the latest incident prompted another round of condemnations by public officials and calls by activists for tighter gun control.
President Joe Biden lamented the loss of lives in the shooting, noting in a statement on Wednesday that “yet another horrific and senseless act of violence” happened on the eve of Thanksgiving.
“Heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities,” Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin said on Twitter. The Republican has faced stepped-up calls for policies to address gun violence after three University of Virginia students were shot to death earlier this month.
In addition to seven confirmed dead, including the shooter, four people were being treated at hospitals in the area, just south of Norfolk, Solesky said.
One employee told ABC News that the shooter was a manager at the store.
“I looked up and my manager just opened the door and he just opened fire,” Briana Tyler said, according to ABC.
It is not the first mass shooting at a Walmart, which has thousands of stores across the US.
At a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, in August 2019, 23 people were killed in a mass shooting near the US-Mexico border in an act described as domestic terrorism by law enforcement. It was also the deadliest attack on the Hispanic community in modern times. Patrick Wood Crusius, then 21, from Allen, Texas, was arrested in the shooting and he left behind a manifesto with white nationalist and anti-immigrant themes.
Walmart in a statement on Wednesday said it was “shocked” at the violence at the Chesapeake store and it was working closely with law enforcement.
Reuters
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