Gunman Kills 6 In US Walmart Superstore
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
CHESAPEAKE (Worthy News) – A gunman shot and killed six people in a Walmart superstore in Chesapeake, in the U.S. state of Virginia, police said early Wednesday.
His motives were not immediately clear. Reports said the man, a store manager, opened fire before killing himself with the gun.
The Walmart at Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake is usually scheduled to be open until 11 p.m., said people familiar with the area.
The initial calls to police regarding the shooting came in at 10:12 p.m., explained Leo Kosinski, a spokesman for Chesapeake police, to reporters.
For the next 30 to 40 minutes, police that arrived on the scene “dynamically” went through the store, looking for injured people to rescue, he said without elaborating. At least five injured survivors were rushed to eye Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, a spokesperson said.
The overnight shooting in the U.S. east coast city comes three days after a gunman opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17.
And in 2019, a gunman that police say targeted Mexicans opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso and killed 22 people.
Walmart said on the social networking site Twitter early Wednesday that it worked closely with law enforcement and “focused on supporting our associates.”
REUNIFICATION SITE
As relatives anxiously awaited word from loved ones, a family reunification site was set up at the Chesapeake Conference Center.
The shooting, less than two days before Thanksgiving, shocked Chesapeake, a city in Virginia’s Hampton Roads/Tidewater area, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) southeast of Washington.
It also came just more than a week after another mass shooting in the state, in which three University of Virginia football players were killed, and two other students were wounded.
On November 13, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., a 22-year-old student, and former university football player, opened fire on a bus full of students, authorities said.
They had just returned from a field trip to see a play in Washington, D.C., officials explained. The latest Virginia shooting shocked senators of the state.
U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner, a Democrat from Virginia, said he was “sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting.” He urged people to pay attention to local law enforcement notices and avoid the scene.
“I am absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in my district in Chesapeake, Virginia, tonight,” added Virginia Democratic Senator L. Louise Lucas. “I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives,” Lucas wrote on the social media platform Twitter.
The latest shooting was due to further fuel a fierce debate in the United States about escalating gun violence in the nation.
If you are interested in articles produced by Worthy News, please check out our FREE sydication service available to churches or online Christian ministries. To find out more, visit Worthy Plugins.