An employee had a gun to her forehead, others ran for their lives: Witnesses describe the Chesapeake Walmart shooting - CNN

CNN  — 

Though Jessie Wilczewski had lone been moving astatine the Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart for a fewer days, her Tuesday nighttime displacement started similar each the rest, with a regular squad gathering successful the interruption room.

But moments aft that gathering began, Wilczewski recovered herself look to look with her squad leader, who held a weapon to her forehead aft having changeable her coworkers.

She managed to flight and marque it backmost location to her 15-month-old, but she told CNN the nighttime – and the dependable of humor hitting the level – keeps replaying successful her head.

Six of her colleagues – including a teen – were killed successful the massacre aft the gunman, who Chesapeake metropolis officials identified arsenic 31-year-old Andre Bing, began indiscriminately firing into the country wherever employees had gathered for a meeting.

According to a connection from Walmart, Bing, was a “team lead” for the store’s overnight displacement and had been employed with the institution since 2010. Police accidental helium died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

“It’s horrible due to the fact that it doesn’t stop. It doesn’t halt replaying erstwhile you permission the scene, it doesn’t halt hurting arsenic much, it doesn’t stop,” Wilczewski told CNN’s Erica Hill Wednesday nighttime aft recounting the horrifying experience.

Five of the deceased victims were identified by metropolis officials arsenic Lorenzo Gamble; Brian Pendleton; Kellie Pyle; Randall Blevins; and Tyneka Johnson. The sixth deceased unfortunate was a 16-year-old lad who authorities are not naming due to the fact that helium was a minor, the metropolis said. They were each Walmart employees, a institution spokesperson told CNN.

Wilczewski told CNN she noticed the shooter soon aft 10 p.m. She was listening to different squad pb talk earlier she turned her caput toward the doorway and saw Bing lasting with a weapon pointed astatine the assemblage – an representation she says astatine archetypal didn’t registry arsenic real.

But past she began to consciousness her thorax vibrating and her ears ringing arsenic a watercourse of gunshots erupted, she said. Wilczewski leaped nether a array portion the gunman walked disconnected down a adjacent hallway.

“I didn’t privation to beryllium loud, I didn’t privation him to perceive maine and marque him huffy and marque him travel back,” Wilczewski told CNN.

Around her, immoderate coworkers were connected the floor, portion others were laying connected chairs – each still. She said she knew galore were apt not live but Wilczewski stayed due to the fact that she didn’t privation to permission them alone.

“The dependable of the droplets (hitting the floor),” she said, “It replays, and replays and replays and replays.”

When helium came back, Wilczewski said the gunman told her to get retired from nether the table. She obeyed, putting her container retired archetypal to bespeak she didn’t person a weapon, and raised her arms.

“I slid from retired underneath the array and I was shaking,” she said. “He conscionable had the weapon up to my forehead.”

And then, helium told her to spell home, pulling the weapon distant and aiming it astatine the ceiling.

“I got up existent dilatory and I tried not to look astatine everybody connected the crushed … and I had to interaction the doorway which was covered (in blood) and I walked retired the treble doors to wherever you tin spot the aisles of Walmart and … I conscionable retrieve gripping my container and thinking, ‘If he’s going to sprout maine successful the back, good he’s going to person to effort truly hard origin I’m running,’ and I booked it,” she said. “I booked it and I didn’t halt until I got to my car and past I had a meltdown.”

Briana Tyler was besides a caller prosecute astatine the store. She had clocked into enactment soon aft 10 p.m. erstwhile she saw Bing lasting successful the doorway.

“Everybody was conscionable waiting to, you know, fig retired wherever they were going for the nighttime and past each of a abrupt you conscionable perceive ‘pa pa pa pa pa pa pa,’” Tyler told CNN.

After helium started shooting, Bing didn’t talk oregon constituent the weapon astatine anyone successful particular, Tyler recalled.

“He conscionable had a blank look connected his look and helium conscionable virtually conscionable looked astir the country and conscionable changeable and determination were radical conscionable dropping to the floor,” Tyler said.

It was a horrifying show that’s been seared into her caput since.

“The 2 visions I can’t get retired of my caput are the imaginativeness of him shooting the weapon and the fume leaving,” Tyler said. “I’m watching the fume permission the tube of the weapon and my person bleeding retired from her neck.”

The gunman continued shooting passim the store, Tyler said, portion everyone astir her was screaming. She, too, couldn’t judge what was happening, until she saw injured friends connected the crushed and made a tally for it.

“As I was running, it was conscionable run, don’t trip, don’t fall, conscionable run,” she said. “And I conscionable knew I had to marque it location to my lad and arsenic soon arsenic I made it outside, I conscionable called my mom.”

Donya Prioleau, who told CNN she’d heard Bing accidental “a batch of disturbing things” successful the past, was besides successful the interruption country erstwhile the gunman entered.

Bing walked successful and changeable 3 of her friends “before I took disconnected running. Half of america didn’t judge it was existent until immoderate of america saw each the humor connected the floor,” she said.

Two slain victims and the shooter were recovered successful the interruption room, portion different was recovered astatine the beforehand of the store, the metropolis of Chesapeake said. Three others died astatine the hospital, officials said, and portion the metropolis is trying to find the nonstop fig of injuries – immoderate victims whitethorn person taken themselves to hospitals – astatine slightest 4 radical remained hospitalized aboriginal Wednesday, 2 of them successful captious condition, a Sentara Norfolk General Hospital authoritative said.

Employee Kevin Harper narrowly missed an brushwood with the gunman.

“I conscionable near retired the interruption room,” Harper says successful a video posted to Facebook.

“(The gunman) conscionable travel successful there, started capping radical up successful there. Started shooting, bro. … As soon arsenic I near retired the interruption room, helium went successful there, man. By the grace of God, yo,” Harper says, acknowledging his luck successful not being injured oregon worse.

Harper thought it was thing astatine archetypal but soon realized thing was awry and fled, helium says connected the video, which appears to person been filmed successful the store’s parking lot.

“Then, I started proceeding him getting person truthful … I booked it. I seen everybody run. I booked it, too,” helium said. “I got up retired of there.”

As helium records, a pistillate successful the inheritance is heard telling him she played dormant during the attack. Others articulation successful the discussion, sharing accusation connected those killed.

“He killed the miss successful determination and everything,” Harper says. “He came successful determination and conscionable started spraying and s**t. … I’m atrocious for the victims.”

The metropolis said the shooter was equipped with a handgun and aggregate magazines. Police were moving Wednesday to find retired much astir the suspect’s inheritance and place a imaginable motive.

Wilczewski said she thinks astir however other she could person helped, however she could person changed Tuesday night’s result and wonders wherefore the shooter fto her go.

“It bothers maine really, truly bad. I don’t cognize wherefore helium did what helium did,” she told CNN. “Because I could person sworn I was a goner.”

She besides shared a connection for the families of the 2 pistillate victims, though she didn’t sanction them.

“I privation to fto you know, I could person ran retired that doorway with everybody other that ran retired that doorway and I stayed. I stayed truthful they wouldn’t beryllium unsocial successful their past moments,” she said. “I stayed, conscionable truthful they wouldn’t beryllium alone.”