6 killed in another US mass shooting

WASHINGTON: A gunman killed at least six people at a Walmart store in the American state of Virginia on Tuesday just ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday in the second mass shooting in the United States in four days.

Police said the shooter was also dead after the late-night assault in Chesapeake in the state that followed a weekend gun attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado that killed five people.

“Chesapeake Police confirm 7 fatalities, including the shooter, from last night’s shooting at Walmart on Sam’s Circle,” the city confirmed on its Twitter account. Chesapeake Police Department officer Leo Kosinski earlier told reporters that there had been multiple fatalities at the megastore, which local media reported was busy with holiday shoppers.

CNN quoted a law enforcement source as saying the attacker was believed to be an employee or former employee of the store who started shooting other workers in a room used for staff breaks. At some point the shooter turned the gun on himself, CNN quoted the source as saying.

US media reported that witnesses said the shooting began at the back of the store and that at least five wounded were rushed to the hospital. “We believe it is a single shooter and that single shooter is deceased,” Kosinski said, adding he did not believe shots were fired by police.