Police identify the gunman behind the Virginia Walmart shooting

CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Andre Bing, 31, has been identified as the gunman who opened fire at a Walmart Supercenter in Virginia late Tuesday, the City of Chesapeake said Wednesday afternoon.

The attack left six people dead and four hospitalized.

The City of Chesapeake announced Bing's identification on Twitter Wednesday along with new details. Bing had been employed by Walmart as an overnight team lead since 2010, the company confirmed.

Bing was allegedly armed with one handgun and had multiple magazines on him when he was found, the city said. Three of the deceased, including the gunman were found in the store's break room. Bing was found at the scene from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to police, the city added.

Another person was found dead near the front of the store, the city said. The other three victims were transported to local hospitals, but succumbed to their injuries. The city said six more people were taken to hospitals to treat their injuries and one of those people is in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon.

"We are focused on doing everything we can to support our associates and their families at this time. We are thankful for the local first responders and will continue to work with local law enforcement as they continue their investigation," Walmart said in a statement.

The Chesapeake Police Department is still working with the victims' families before releasing the names of those killed.

Police have declined to comment on whether the victims were shoppers, employees or both. Stressing that it could take days to investigate, police said they couldn't say whether the shooter had been targeting anyone.

It's also unclear how many people were inside the store at the time of the shooting, during what are normally popular pre-Thanksgiving shopping hours.

The shooting came three days after a person opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17. Last week, a former college football player shot three of his teammates on the University of Virginia campus.

And since 2019, Americans have witnessed at least five deadly shootings inside supermarkets, including one that killed 10 shoppers, most of them Black, at a Buffalo supermarket this May.

Tuesday's shooting also brought back memories of a 2019 shooting in neighboring Virginia Beach that left 12 dead. Then-Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, responded by proposing a range of gun reform measures for Virginia, the state that's home to the NRA.

After a backlash from pro-rights groups, including a high-profile 2020 rally of thousands of armed protestors, the measures saw mixed success. New rules for background checks and limits on the number of firearms a person can purchase went into effect last year.

Police say they arrived on the scene at 10:14 p.m. ET on Monday, two minutes after the first 911 call, and had officially cleared the store by 11:20 p.m.

"Chesapeake Police SWAT Team executed a search warrant at the suspect's residence," Solenksy added. "With the help of Virginia State Police, we cleared the house. We have reason to believe that there's no risk to the public at this time."

A spokesperson for Norfolk General Hospital said they were treating at least five patients following the shooting.

Walmart tweeted early Wednesday that it was "shocked at this tragic event."

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin echoed that sentiment, saying in a tweet that "heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities" and that he was in touch with law enforcement officers.

Chesapeake Mayor Rick West said in a statement he was "devastated by the senseless act of violence" and described his city as a "tightknit community."

Chesapeake is a city of about a quarter million people along the southern Virginia coast.

Sarah McCammon reported from Chesapeake; Emily Olson reported from Washington, D.C.

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