The Walmart supervisor, who shot dead six of his colleagues at a store in Chesapeake, Va., late Tuesday bought a pistol just hours before the massacre and left a note on the phone. in his voicemail, in which he described how he planned to target some colleagues and spare others, according to new details released Friday by Chesapeake police.
As friends and relatives of victims mourn, with a candlelight vigil planned by the city for Monday, new details provide the first indication of what has led to the outbreak of violence. in the workplace, taking place as a member of an organization described as a close group overnight meet in the Walmart break room.
Police said an analysis of the gunman’s phone, identified as 31-year-old Andre Bing, showed text messages in which he said employees at the store mocked him and compared him. him with a serial killer. In what he called a “death notice,” the gunman said he would not kill an employee with cancer because his mother had died of the disease.
“God forgive me for what I am about to do…” the letter concluded, according to images shared by Chesapeake city officials on Twitter. Officials did not say when the note was written.
New details released Friday show that the gunman easily purchased the pistol used in the murder, a 9mm shotgun. “The firearm was legally purchased from a local store Tuesday morning,” the city said in a statement. “He has no criminal record.”
According to a witness, the gunman opened fire at around 10pm without warning after entering the break room. The victims included several employees who had worked with him for years — Randall Blevins, Lorenzo Gamble and Brian Pendleton — and others who joined the staff more recently, Kellie Pyle and Tyneka Johnson. One victim was a 16-year-old boy whose name has not been released.
This developing story will be updated.
