There was a mass shooting overnight at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia where a store employee took his own life after killing six people, presumably all Walmart employees.
The shooting also sent four people to the hospital but we don’t yet know their conditions.
Police held a press conference a few moments ago and here’s what we know, via Fox News:
A mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia Tuesday night that left six people dead was carried out by one of the store’s workers before he took his own life by turning the gun on himself, the Chesapeake Police Department says.
Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky told reporters Wednesday morning that the male employee used a pistol in the attack, which also left four other people hospitalized.
Their conditions are currently unknown and following a search by a SWAT team at the individual’s home, police believe there is “no risk to the public at this time,” Solesky added.
The employee has not been identified as police say they have yet to contact his next of kin. Prior to the shooting, officials say he was not familiar to law enforcement. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police say.
“The investigation is still ongoing,” Solesky said. “We will be processing that scene for days.”
One employee at the store claimed it was a store manager who committed the massacre:
The comments from the police chief come after a video emerged of an employee claiming a store manager carried out the mass shooting.
Kevin Harper, a Walmart employee who managed to flee the store, said in a video that “we lost a few of our associates.”
“I just left out of the break room, the manager comes in there and started capping people up in there. Started shooting bro,” Harper said.
Here’s more on the timeline of what happened when police arrived:
Chesapeake police earlier said they responded to an “active shooter” call at the store located along Battlefield Blvd. at approximately 10:12 p.m. When officers arrived, they coordinated with a tactical team to enter the store, where they found multiple bodies, said Chesapeake police spokesman Leo Kosinski.
The shooting happened inside the store, but police confirmed at least one body was found at its entrance, Kosinski said at a briefing.
Over 35 to 40 minutes later, officers walked throughout the store, where they found multiple people dead and rescued other victims, he added.
“It’s sad. We’re a couple of days before the Thanksgiving holiday,” Kosinski said.
The City of Chesapeake confirmed at least seven fatalities, including the lone gunman, but said many details are pending the police investigation.
“We’re only a few hours into the response, so we don’t have all the answers yet. Chesapeake Police continue their investigation into the active shooter event at Walmart on Sam’s Circle. We do know there are multiple fatalities plus injuries and the shooter is confirmed dead,” a tweet read.
We’ll let you know more details on the shooter when we get them.