A dramatic video has emerged that captures the alleged Virginia Walmart manager cracking jokes and having fun with his colleagues inside the store moments before he opened fire, killing at least seven and leaving several others wounded. Andre Bing, who has been identified as the suspected gunman, also shot himself dead after going on a rampage inside the store.
Although the exact death toll is still unclear, with many reporting at least 10 dead, police are yet to officially identify Bing as the shooter. However, several of the Chesapeake Walmart employees have identified Bing as the shooter, who first started killing his colleagues on Tuesday night.
Sudden Attack
It is known not if it was a premeditated attack as a video that has emerged on social media shows Bing, 31, having fun with his colleagues. The video shows him discussing travel plans with one of his female colleagues. Both are seen laughing and cracking jokes. They also speak about baseball, as the video then abruptly cuts.
Moments after that Bing allegedly opened fire inside the store. According to witnesses at the site, at around 10.10 p.m. on Tuesday Bing, who was the night manager of the store, entered the break room and began firing at customers inside the Sam's Circle Walmart, which is close to Battlefield Boulevard.
Eyewitness accounts posted on social media claim that the night manager entered the break room first, then "snapped" before shooting a woman in the head. He then moved to the grocery department and started shooting.
Although police didn't confirm how he died, one of the employees, who managed to save himself said that he turned the gun on himself.
Authorities believe there was one shooter, Chesapeake Officer Leo Kosinski told reporters earlier.
"It was wild. It was a manager – one of the managers," an employee in a Walmart uniform said in a Facebook livestream, explaining that he narrowly avoided being killed in the rampage.
"He blew his brains out and everything. He killed the girl in there and everything. He came in and started spraying. I'm sorry for the victims," he said.
"I just left the break room ... the manager come in there and started capping people up in there, started shooting. Sadly, we lost a few of our associates," he added as a woman was heard crying at his side.
Unnatural Behavior
There's still a massive police response outside of the store, with more than 40 emergency vehicles outside. Seven verified fatalities were reported, according to the official Chesapeake city social media account, which cited police sources.
Chesapeake police are getting ready to provide more information, at a news conference scheduled for Wednesday morning at 8am ET,
A spokesman for the Chesapeake Police Department previously stated that he doesn't think any police shots were fired during the incident, which left no more than 10 individuals dead. According to him, all injured people have been sent to local hospitals.
The leading trauma center in the region, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, was providing care for five patients who had been injured.
According to reports, Bing was previously reported to management over his behavior. One of the shooting victims was a janitor named Brian. In addition to Chesapeake, he has also lived in Suffolk and Virginia Beach in the state of Virginia.
He has family in Virginia and New York, both in the United States. Interestingly, he's never had a criminal record.
Police have not yet confirmed the nature of Bing's death.
Many of the employees could be seen outside the store who managed to save themselves. Another Walmart employee, who showed up for their nightshift shortly after the shooting, told reporters at the scene: "Thank goodness I showed up late."
According to Wavy, the Walmart store was still open to the public and there was a massive rush ahead of the Thanksgiving shopping. Night shift workers had just checked in when the manager opened fire.
An on-duty greeter told the news channel that the shooting started in the back of the shop. Additionally, a body was reportedly discovered outside the front door.
