The gunman within the lethal capturing at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, purchased the gun he used within the rampage legally hours earlier than he opened hearth on his co-workers, metropolis officers stated Friday.
Andre Bing, 31, purchased the 9 mm handgun at a retailer Tuesday morning and killed six those who evening, Chesapeake officers stated. Police discovered the gunman lifeless of an obvious self-inflicted gunshot wound within the retailer’s break room, the place the capturing unfolded, officers stated.
The gunman did not have a legal historical past, officers stated Friday.
Police have recognized the victims as: Brian Pendleton, 38; Kellie Pyle, 52; Lorenzo Gamble, 43; and Randy Blevins, 70, who had been all from Chesapeake; and Tyneka Johnson, 22, of close by Portsmouth. The lifeless additionally included a 16-year-old boy whose identify was withheld due to his age, police stated.
A Walmart spokesperson confirmed that all the victims labored for the corporate.
City officers additionally stated Friday that police performed a forensic evaluation of the gunman’s cellphone and found what was labeled a “Death Note” that included rambling descriptions of perceived grievances along with his co-workers.
Reuters/Jay Paul
Some who labored with the gunman stated he had a status for being an aggressive, if not hostile, supervisor, who as soon as admitted to having “anger issues.” But he additionally might make individuals snort and gave the impression to be coping with the everyday stresses at work that many individuals endure.
“I don’t think he had many people to fall back on in his personal life,” stated Nathan Sinclair, who labored on the Walmart for almost a 12 months earlier than leaving earlier this month.
During chats amongst co-workers, “We would be like ‘work is consuming my life.’ And (the gunman) would be like, ‘Yeah, I don’t have a social life anyway,'” Sinclair recalled Thursday.
Sinclair stated he and the gunman didn’t get alongside. He was recognized for being “verbally hostile” to workers and wasn’t notably well-liked, Sinclair stated. But there have been instances when the gunman was made enjoyable of and never essentially handled pretty.
“There’s no telling what he could have been thinking. … You never know if somebody really doesn’t have any kind of support group,” Sinclair stated.
On stability, the gunman appeared fairly regular to Janice Strausburg, who knew him from working at Walmart for 13 years earlier than leaving in June.
The gunman could possibly be “grumpy” however may be “placid,” she stated. He made individuals snort and instructed Strausburg he appreciated dance. When she invited him to church, he declined however talked about that his mom had been a preacher.
Strausburg thought the gunman’s grumpiness was as a result of stresses that include any job. He additionally as soon as instructed her that he had “had anger issues” and complained he was going to “get the managers in trouble.”
But she by no means anticipated this.
“I think he had mental issues,” Strausburg stated Thursday. “What else could it be?”