Atleats 10 Killed In Shooting At Walmart In Chesapeake, Virginia

0
12
In this image from video Virginia police respond to the scene of a fatal shooting at a Walmart on Tuesday night, Nov. 22, 2022, in Chesapeake, Va. (WAVY-TV 10 via AP)

A shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, has left up to 10 people dead and wounded, according to local authorities.

The shooter was among the dead, the City of Chesapeake tweeted on Tuesday. It said: “Chesapeake Police confirm an active shooter incident with fatalities at the Walmart on Sam’s Circle. The shooter is deceased.”

Leo Kosinski, a spokesperson with the police department, said in a brief news conference that police received reports of a shooting at 10pm and arrived to find multiple fatalities.

The shooting is thought to have stopped when police arrived, said Kosinski, adding that did not believe police had fired shots, but he could not say whether the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

It was unclear how many people had died, but Kosinski said “no more” than 10 people were killed.

The city set up a reunification site at the Chesapeake Conference Center for family members of those who may have been present at the Walmart to gather.

“We are shocked at this tragic event at our Chesapeake, Virginia store,” Walmart tweeted early on Wednesday. “We’re praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates,” the tweet said.

Mike Kafka, a spokesperson for Sentara Healthcare, said five patients from the Walmart were being treated at Norfolk general hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.

The Virginia state senator, Louise Lucas, said she was “absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in my district in Chesapeake, Virginia.

“I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives.”

The Virginia shooting comes three days after a person opened fire at a gay nightclub in Colorado, killing five people and wounding 17. That shooter, who is nonbinary, was arrested after patrons at the club tackled them. The shootings come in a year when the US was shaken by the deaths of 21 in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.

Tuesday’s shooting also brought back memories of another shooting at a Walmart in 2019, when a gunman police say was targeting Mexicans opened fire at a store in El Paso and killed 22 people. Walmart did not have a security guard on duty that day.

GUARDIAN UK

LEAVE A REPLY