Walmart shooting gunman bought gun hours before deadly rampage and left a "death note" on his phone - CBS News

1 year ago 35

Investigators hunt for motive successful Walmart shooting

Investigators hunt for motive successful Walmart shooting 03:17

The gunman successful the deadly shooting astatine a Walmart successful Chesapeake, Virginia, bought the weapon helium utilized successful the rampage legally hours earlier helium opened occurrence connected his co-workers, metropolis officials said Friday. 

Andre Bing, 31, bought the 9 mm handgun astatine a store Tuesday greeting and killed six people that night, Chesapeake officials said. Police recovered the gunman dormant of an evident self-inflicted gunshot coiled successful the store's interruption room, wherever the shooting unfolded, officials said.

The gunman didn't person a transgression history, officials said Friday.

Police person identified the victims as: Fernando Chavez-Barron, 16; Brian Pendleton, 38; Kellie Pyle, 52; Lorenzo Gamble, 43; and Randy Blevins, 70, who were each from Chesapeake; and Tyneka Johnson, 22, of adjacent Portsmouth. Police initially withheld Chavez-Barron's sanction due to the fact that of his property and released it Friday morning.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed that each of the victims worked for the company.

City officials besides said Friday that constabulary conducted a forensic investigation of the gunman's telephone and discovered what was labeled a "death note" that included rambling descriptions of perceived grievances with his co-workers.

FBI agents are seen extracurricular  a Walmart successful  Chesapeake, Virginia, aft  a wide    shooting November 23, 2022. FBI agents are seen extracurricular a Walmart successful Chesapeake, Virginia, aft a wide shooting November 23, 2022. Reuters/Jay Paul

Some who worked with the gunman said helium had a estimation for being an aggressive, if not hostile, supervisor, who erstwhile admitted to having "anger issues." But helium besides could marque radical laughter and seemed to beryllium dealing with the emblematic stresses astatine enactment that galore radical endure.

"I don't deliberation helium had galore radical to autumn backmost connected successful his idiosyncratic life," said Nathan Sinclair, who worked astatine the Walmart for astir a twelvemonth earlier leaving earlier this month.

During chats among co-workers, "We would beryllium similar 'work is consuming my life.' And (the gunman) would beryllium like, 'Yeah, I don't person a societal beingness anyway,'" Sinclair recalled Thursday.

Sinclair said helium and the gunman did not get along. He was known for being "verbally hostile" to employees and wasn't peculiarly well-liked, Sinclair said. But determination were times erstwhile the gunman was made amusive of and not needfully treated fairly.

"There's nary telling what helium could person been thinking. … You ne'er cognize if idiosyncratic truly doesn't person immoderate benignant of enactment group," Sinclair said.

On balance, the gunman seemed beauteous mean to Janice Strausburg, who knew him from moving astatine Walmart for 13 years earlier leaving successful June.

The gunman could beryllium "grumpy" but could besides beryllium "placid," she said. He made radical laughter and told Strausburg helium liked dance. When she invited him to church, helium declined but mentioned that his parent had been a preacher.

Strausburg thought the gunman's grumpiness was owed to the stresses that travel with immoderate job. He besides erstwhile told her that helium had "had choler issues" and complained helium was going to "get the managers successful trouble."

But she ne'er expected this.

"I deliberation helium had intelligence issues," Strausburg said Thursday. "What other could it be?"

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