Virginia Walmart mass shooting leaves 6 dead, 4 wounded by store employee who died by suicide, police say – Law Officer

CHESAPEAKE, Va. – A Tuesday night mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia left six people dead. It was reportedly carried out by a store employee before he shot and killed himself, the Chesapeake Police Department said.

Officers from the Chesapeake Police Department responded to an “active shooter” call at the Walmart located along Battlefield Blvd. at 10:12 p.m. When patrol officers arrived on scene, they coordinated with a tactical team to enter the store. As they cleared the facility, police personnel discovered multiple bodies, injured persons, and others who were hiding, Chesapeake Police spokesman Leo Kosinski said.

Although gunfire took place inside the store, police confirmed at least one body was found at its entrance, Kosinski said at a briefing, according to Fox News.

“It’s sad. We’re a couple of days before the Thanksgiving holiday,” Kosinski noted.

Wednesday morning, Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky told reporters that the suspect, a male employee, used a handgun during the attack. In addition to six dead, four others were wounded and hospitalized. Their conditions are unknown. The suspect is also dead bringing the death total to seven.

Once the shooting scene was secure, a SWAT team also searched the suspect’s home. Police said he was previously unknown to authorities and confirmed he died by suicide. He has not yet been identified.

“The investigation is still ongoing,” Solesky said. “We will be processing that scene for days.”

The chief’s comments followed a video that emerged of a store employee claiming a department manager carried out the mass shooting, Fox News reported.

Walmart employee Kevin Harper who was able to flee the store, said in a video that “we lost a few of our associates.”

“I just left out of the break room, the manager comes in there and started capping people up in there. Started shooting bro,” Harper said.

The investigation will be monumental and it will take time to provide more specific details, city officials noted.

“We’re only a few hours into the response, so we don’t have all the answers yet. Chesapeake Police continue their investigation into the active shooter event at Walmart on Sam’s Circle. We do know there are multiple fatalities plus injuries and the shooter is confirmed dead,” a tweet read.