Virginia Walmart mass shooting live updates: 16-year-old among victims - ABC News

Brian Pendleton, 1 of the six radical killed successful the shooting, would person turned 39 adjacent week, his parent said successful an affectional telephone interrogation Wednesday.

"He had a existent large heart," his mother, Michelle Johnson, said. "Anybody that wanted to laugh, oregon conscionable privation company, he'd bargain you lunch. He'd bargain you thing successful a minute."

Pendleton worked astatine the Walmart for astir 11 years arsenic a custodian and "loved his job," she said.

"He was conscionable a hard idiosyncratic and a bully kid," she said.

When a household person called and told her determination had been a shooting astatine his Walmart, Johnson's hubby went to wherever families had been told to convene for reunification. He was told Brian had been transferred to Norfolk General Hospital, truthful Johnson and her hubby drove there, she said.

"We waited, and past the constabulary came retired with a caregiver and they took america to a broadside country and that's erstwhile they told america that helium didn't marque it," Johnson said, choking up.

"That's erstwhile they said that helium didn't marque it," Johnson said, sobbing. "I conscionable wondered, was helium acrophobic astatine that time? I cognize my son. I didn't privation him to beryllium afraid, and I didn't privation him to hurt."

Pendleton had a information called congenital hydrocephalus. Johnson has it too, she said, but they had some been "blessed" not to person a terrible case.

"We're fighters, and we spot the Lord," she said.

This was Pendleton's favourite clip of year, with Thanksgiving and his day connected Dec. 2, said Johnson.

"I don't recognize why, what happened, happened," she said.

"I volition ne'er spell adjacent that Walmart again," she added.

-ABC News' Sasha Pezenik

Five of the victims of the shooting person been publicly identified by Chesapeake officials arsenic Lorenzo Gamble, Brian Pendleton, Kellie Pyle, Randall Blevins and Tyneka Johnson.

The sanction of the sixth unfortunate -- a 16-year-old lad -- has not been released owed to his age.

Chesapeake Mayor Rick West offered words of enactment successful a little video connection Wednesday evening.

"I cognize this community, and I cognize it well, and I cognize that we volition travel unneurotic and lend a helping manus to the victims' families," West said. "We'll stock this load unneurotic and we'll beryllium stronger for it."

The politician promised to stock much accusation connected the incident.

"Until then, delight cognize that we volition get done this, and we volition get done this together, and we volition ne'er hide those that we person lost," helium said.

At slightest 50 radical were believed to beryllium successful a Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart erstwhile a gunman opened occurrence Tuesday night, Chesapeake constabulary said.

Authorities are inactive investigating a motive and are looking into the inheritance of the suspect, 31-year-old Andre Bing, according to police. A hunt warrant has been executed astatine Bing’s house, constabulary said.

Bing, who died astatine the store of an evident self-inflicted gunshot wound, wasn’t wearing immoderate benignant of armor oregon a ballistic vest, authorities said.

Police said they’re "still trying to relationship for anyone who whitethorn person been astatine the store and witnessed the incident, but fled anterior to constabulary arrival." Anyone with accusation is urged to interaction the FBI astatine 1-800-CALLFBI.

The Walmart is expected to beryllium closed for respective days, constabulary added.