Chesapeake Walmart shooting: Police ID victims, suspect; manifesto found

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — 10 On Your Side has learned more about the mass shooting at a Chesapeake Walmart on Tuesday night that took the lives of six people, as well as the gunman. Our investigative team also discovered that the gunman made a manifesto before the killings.

Police have identified the six victims as: 38-year-old Brian Pendleton of Chesapeake, 70-year-old Randy Blevins of Chesapeake, 52-year-old Kellie Pyle of Chesapeake, 43-year-old Lorenzo Gamble of Chesapeake, 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson of Portsmouth and 16-year-old Fernando Chavez-Barron of Chesapeake.

According to a tweet from the City of Chesapeake on Thanksgiving, two people remain hospitalized as of Thursday afternoon, all at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. Officials say one is in critical condition and the other is in fair/improving condition.

The tweet also stated that the Chesapeake City Council will be holding a special meeting on Monday, Nov. 28 at 5 p.m. to confirm an Emergency Declaration that will free up funding to support recovery following the shooting.

All patients taken to Chesapeake Regional Medical Center have been released.

10 On Your Side’s investigative team learned Wednesday night from a law enforcement source that the gunman had a manifesto on his phone that described how he was upset with a recent change in employment status, and was being harassed about it by fellow employees.

The City of Chesapeake released an update on Friday, Nov. 25 stating that the FBI and Chesapeake have completed their crime scene investigation and that the Walmart store will be handed back to the company which will determine what the next steps are for this location.

The call reporting the shooting came in at 10:12 p.m. Tuesday when the Walmart Supercenter was still open to the public. Night shift workers had just recently checked in and about 50 people in total were believed to have been inside the store at the time.

Police say that the first officer arrived at the scene within two minutes, around 10:14 p.m., and officers entered the store around 10:16 p.m. The suspect, 31-year-old Andre Bing of Chesapeake, was already dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound when officers arrived, police say. WAVY’s Hayley Milon broke down the timeline of events in the video below:

Bing was a team lead on the overnight shift, Walmart said in a statement.

A witness who spoke to WAVY added that she believes the shooting was planned, and that she heard the suspect laughing. The witness said the shooter “had issues” with other managers at that Walmart.

“It didn’t even look real until you could feel the gun go off,” said the witness who was only on her fifth day working at that Walmart. “I will never go back in that store again. I cannot, I can’t even leave my front door.”

The gunman and two others were found dead in the store’s break room, another victim was found dead near the front of the store, and three other victims who were taken to local hospitals later died.

Investigators tell 10 On Your Side there are no indications that any of the surviving wounded victims were shoppers at the Walmart.

Police Chief Mark Solesky confirmed the gunman was an employee at the store and used a pistol. He had several magazines and was dressed in civilian clothing, without body armor or a ballistic vest.

According to investigators, first responders found a list near the employees the suspect presumably wanted to target. Officials say all six victims were shot either in the head or the face. One victim who was taken to a local hospital was shot in the head and twice in the chest.

Investigators added that there appeared to be “no signs of struggle or resistance against the shooter.”

Chesapeake’s SWAT team executed a search warrant at the suspect’s home with the help of Virginia State Police on Wednesday and investigators are working to learn more about his background and what may have motivated the shooting. Not much of note was found at his home, a source said, including no additional weapons or ammunition.

10 On Your Side’s Regina Mobley spoke with Congressman Bobby Scott via Zoom about the shooting. Scott said that the United States needs to do something about gun violence.

Police says they’re still trying to account for anyone who may have been at the store and witnessed the incident, but fled prior to police arrival. Anyone with information can submit it to the FBI hotline, 1-800-CALLFBI. 

Officials tell 10 On Your Side they believe this is the largest crime-related response in memory, and presumably, in Chesapeake’s history.