November 23, 2022 Walmart shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia

By Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond and Dakin Andone, CNN

Updated 11:20 PM ET, Wed November 23, 2022
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7:48 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

How the deadly shooting at a Virginia Walmart unfolded — and what happens next

Members of law enforcement stand outside of a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on November 23.
Members of law enforcement stand outside of a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on November 23. (Jay Paul/Reuters)

At least six people were killed in a shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia.

Four people injured in the shooting remained hospitalized Wednesday morning, Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky said. At least two were in critical condition, said Dr. Michael Hooper, vice president and chief medical officer at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.

Chesapeake Police are releasing new details as its investigation continues. Here's what we know so far:

The timeline:

  • 10:12 p.m. ET: Police respond to the Walmart after receiving calls that there was an active shooter inside the store, according to a statement from police Wednesday afternoon.
  • 10:14 p.m. ET: The first officer arrives on the scene, police said.
  • 10:16 p.m. ET: Police say they entered the store about two minutes later.

The scene inside the store: Once they were inside, Chesapeake Police said officers started locating and evacuating shoppers and employees, the statement said.

According to the statement, police said they believe around 50 people were inside the store at the time of the shooting. They are still trying to find people who witnessed the incident and may have more information, the statement said.

While they were searching, they found several people dead — two people and the shooter were dead in the break room, according to police, and another person was found dead near the front of the store. Officials say three people died at the hospital.

What we know about the victims: The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, has identified the five of the six people killed in the shooting:

  • Lorenzo Gamble
  • Brian Pendleton 
  • Kellie Pyle
  • Randall Blevins 
  • Tyneka Johnson

A 16-year-old male was also killed, officials said.

What we know about the suspect: The shooter has been identified as 31-year-old Andre Bing, a "team lead" for store's overnight shift, according to police. Law enforcement said they believe he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Chesapeake Police said Bing had one handgun and "several magazines" of ammunition with him. Police said he was "dressed in civilian clothing and was not wearing any type of armor or ballistic vest," the statement reads.

What's next: The Chesapeake SWAT team executed a search warrant at Bing's house, the statement from police said, adding that investigators are "actively working to learn more about the suspect's background and what may have motivated the shooting."

Police said detectives are still collecting evidence at the Walmart and the store is expected to be closed for the next several days as law enforcement continues to process the scene.

The statement from police said detectives are also working to contact victims' families. They have not released the names of any of the victims yet.

7:29 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

"He had the gun up to my forehead": Walmart employee in the break room said shooter let her go

Jessie Wilczewski, a Walmart employee who was in the break room when the gunman opened fire, said at one point the shooter put his gun up to her head, but then let her go.

She told CNN she was in the break room for a meeting before her shift. The meeting had just started when she saw the gunman in the doorway, she said.

“At first it didn’t look real, it didn’t register as real. The only thing that made it real was the vibrations hitting your chest and the ringing from the gun going off,” she said, saying she got under a table and was trying to be quiet, worried the shooter was going to come back.

Wilczewski said she could have ran in that moment, but she stayed so that the people who were shot in the break room were not alone.

“I stayed so they wouldn't be alone in their last moments because I knew there was no way … as bad as everything was, there was no way,” she said.

Wilczewski said later, the gunman told her to come out from under the table.

“He had the gun up to my forehead,” she said. 

“He told me to go home,” she said. “He took the gun away from my forehead and he was aiming it at the ceiling and he said ‘Jessie, go home.’”

She said she got up and ran out of the store to her car.

“Never, ever in my life would I ever wish this upon anybody. It's horrible because it doesn't stop. It doesn't stop replaying when you leave the scene it,” Wilczewski said.

6:51 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

Shooting victim Brian Pendleton remembered by co-workers

From CNN’s Caroll Alvarado

Brian Pendleton.
Brian Pendleton. (Family Handout)

Joshua Johnson, who worked as a maintenance worker at the Walmart in Chesapeake until 2019, told CNN that Brian Pendleton trained him when he started working there.

"Brian was the type of guy if you ever needed something, he would give you the shirt off his back,” Johnson said. “He never had any problems with anybody."

Pendleton, 38, was one of six people killed when another employee opened fire at Walmart on Tuesday night.

Shaundrayia Reese, a former Walmart employee, told CNN she just spoke to Pendleton a month ago. 

"He was sweet. He was kind. He always looked out for people. He never had a bad bone in his body," she said.

"Walmart has always been like a family,” she added. “It hurts because I lost someone I really cared about." 

6:25 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

Chesapeake mayor urges community to come together and support families of those killed in shooting

Chesapeake, Virginia, Mayor Rick West said the community will come out the other end of tragedy stronger. In a video message on Wednesday, following the mass shooting at a Walmart that killed at least six people, the mayor also thanked people throughout the country for their support.

“I know this community and I know it well. And I know that we will come together and lend a helping hand to the victims families," West said in the video.

“We’ll share this burden together and be stronger for it," he added.

West said law enforcement will “do what they can” and release new details from its investigation soon.

“Please know that we will get through this and we will get through this together and we will never forget those who we have lost," he said.

Watch the video:

6:09 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

Homeland security secretary: "We mourn the tragic and senseless loss of life" after 2 mass shootings

From CNN's Geneva Sands

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attends a hearing in Washington, DC, on November 17.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas attends a hearing in Washington, DC, on November 17. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

In the wake of two mass shootings in the US over the past week, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “we have seen too many acts of violence across our country.” 

“Today we mourn the tragic and senseless loss of life in Chesapeake, Virginia,” he said in a statement.

“Whatever the motive — whether personal grievance, an ideology of hate, or other evil motive — communities continue to be victimized and made to feel unsafe,” he added, touting the department’s efforts to prevent targeted acts of violence.

At least six people were killed Tuesday night when a gunman opened fire inside a Walmart in Virginia. Late Saturday, five people were killed in a shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado.

5:58 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

"Everybody was screaming": Walmart employee describes being in the break room during shooting

From CNN’s Brian Todd and Paradise Afshar 

Briana Tyler uses her hands like a gun to demonstrate how the gunman at the Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, was shooting indiscriminately.
Briana Tyler uses her hands like a gun to demonstrate how the gunman at the Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, was shooting indiscriminately. (Alex Brandon/AP)

It was shortly after 10 p.m. when Briana Tyler clocked into work at Walmart on Tuesday and made her way to the break room for a nightly meeting where employees would get their assignments. 

Just before the meeting began, she saw a colleague, who would later be identified by the city of Chesapeake as 31-year-old Andre Bing, the suspected shooter, stand in a doorway. 

“It was so random. It was like everybody was just waiting to, you know, figure out where they were going for the night and then all of a sudden you just hear 'pa pa pa pa pa pa pa,’” Tyler told CNN. “And it's like, it wasn't a break in between them to where like you could really try to process it.”

According to a statement from Walmart, Bing, was a "team lead" for the store's overnight shift. Police say he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. 

Six people were killed in the attack, according to the city of Chesapeake. 

During the shooting, Tyler recalls, Bing didn’t speak or point the gun at anyone in particular. 

“He just had a blank stare on his face and he just literally just looked around the room and just shot and there were people just dropping to the floor,” Tyler said. “Everybody was screaming, gasping. And yeah, he just walked away after that and just continued throughout the store and just kept shooting.” 

Tyler recalls Bing looking at her during the incident, and having gunshots fly by inches from her face. She also saw injured friends on the ground as she fled the store.  

At the time, the experience felt surreal to Tyler, who is a new hire at the store. She froze for a moment and said it wasn’t until she saw a friend bleeding from her neck that things began to click — the shooting was really happening, and she’d have to run.  

“As I was running, it was just run, don't trip, don't fall, just run,” she said. “And I just knew I had to make it home to my son and as soon as I made it outside I just called my mom.” 

Police have said there is no clear motive yet determined for the shooting.

5:31 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

City of Chesapeake identifies people killed in Walmart shooting

From Amanda Jackson and Holmes Lybrand

The city of Chesapeake, Virginia, has identified the five of the six people killed in the shooting at Walmart on Tuesday.   

They are:

  • Lorenzo Gamble
  • Brian Pendleton 
  • Kellie Pyle
  • Randall Blevins 
  • Tyneka Johnson

A 16-year-old male was also killed in the shooting, officials said.

“The sixth victim is a 16-year old male resident of Chesapeake whose name and photo are being withheld at the time due to him being a minor,” the statement from the city said.

5:08 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

Customer describes chaos as shooting unfolded in Virginia Walmart

From CNN's Paul P. Murphy

(From Jeromy Basham/Facebook)
(From Jeromy Basham/Facebook)

Jeromy Basham was near the garden center area of the Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart when the shooting unfolded just after 10:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

"It sounded loud as s**t but it was so many of the same kind of sound I don't know what the hell else it could have been," he said in a video uploaded to his Facebook page.

As he heard the gunshots, Basham said it was oddly quiet. No one was screaming, and he didn't see anyone moving.

Then after another few seconds, "you hear almost everyone the same time and people just start flooding out."

Realizing what he was hearing was gunshots, and seeing the other customers run, Basham bolted too, leaving his shopping and running for safety.

"I would have been tackled if I hadn't ran," he said. "Everybody was coming right past me."

Basham said he took cover for a while after some employees told him, "Don't come out." 

(From Jeromy Basham/Facebook)
(From Jeromy Basham/Facebook)

 

Once outside, Basham said he witnessed police officers entering the Walmart with heavy body armor and long rifles. In the parking lot, other eyewitnesses and Walmart employees were seen amongst the first responders. 

"He just came in and started slaughtering people," a Walmart employee, seen wearing an employee vest, is heard saying in the video. 

Additional videos from Basham show dozens of first responders on scene. He also said he witnessed a body being transported out of the store in a shopping cart and transferred to a gurney. In another video, Basham said he witnessed another body being transported to an ambulance.

3:23 p.m. ET, November 23, 2022

Walmart confirms shooting suspect has been employed with company since 2010

From CNN's Lauren Koenig and Brian Todd  

Members of law enforcement investigate the site of a fatal shooting in a Walmart on November 23, in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Members of law enforcement investigate the site of a fatal shooting in a Walmart on November 23, in Chesapeake, Virginia. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Walmart confirms the man suspected in Tuesday night's mass shooting in Chesapeake, Virginia, was an employee.  

"The alleged shooter has been identified as Andre Bing. We can confirm that he was a Walmart associate," Walmart said in a statement. "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," it added.  

President and CEO of Walmart US John Furner said the shooting at the store that left six dead was a "tragic event."

"We feel tragedies like this personally and deeply. But this one is especially painful as we have learned the gunman was a Walmart associate. The entire Walmart family is heartbroken. Our hearts and prayers are with those impacted, and we are grateful for the actions of first responders," a release from Furner said. 

Furner has also instructed some of Walmart's Emergency Operations Center members to help the Chesapeake community "through this challenging time."