6 Killed & 4 Remain Hospitalized After Mass Shooting At A Virginia Walmart, Gunman Was A Store Employee

6 Killed & 4 Remain Hospitalized After Mass Shooting At A Virginia Walmart, Gunman Was A Store Employee

Families in Virginia are mourning the death of their loved ones before Thanksgiving. 

According to reports, on Tuesday night (Nov. 22) a Walmart employee turned gunman fatally shot six people inside the grocery store. Earlier today (Nov. 23) Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky stated that four people are hospitalized from the incident and it is believed that the gunman died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Joetta Jeffery, a Chesapeake local, told the press that her mother, Betsy Umphlett, texted her from inside the store to alert her that someone had opened fire.  Joetta Jeffery said:

“I’m crying, I’m shaking.” 

Jeffery added:

 “I had just talked to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving, then this text came in.”

Investigators believe the gunman, whose identity has yet to be released because his next of kin hasn’t been notified, opened fire on the other employees in a break room. Law enforcement responded to the store around 10:12 p.m., less than an hour before it was set to close. 

Gun violence has been erupting in traditionally safe places such as schools, stores, and hospitals across America. This month, at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville – 170 miles west of Chesapeake – a 22-year-old student allegedly killed three students on a bus returning to campus from a field trip.

In addition,  last weekend during a separate mass shooting, a 22-year-old opened fire in a Colorado Springs LGBTQ nightclub, killing five people and injuring 19 others.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the communities affected by this tragedy. 

[VIA]