Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
6 killed in second US gun rampage in days
Store manager ‘laughing’ as he fired
A SUPERMARKET manager went on a deadly rampage, killing six people in America’s second mass shooting in days.
Disgruntled Walmart employee Andre Bing, 31, killed his colleagues and wounded at least five others before turning his pistol on himself.
One of the dead was named by her family as worker Tyneka Johnson, 22.
It was the 40th mass killing of the year in the US, second only to the 45 in 2019. However, 36 of this year’s have been shootings, compared to 33 in 2019.
The incident in Chesapeake, Virginia, came three days after five people were killed and 17 were wounded at a gay nightclub in Colorado.
Witnesses said Bing, an overnight “team lead” at the store, opened fire at 10.10pm on Tuesday as customers did last-minute Thanksgiving shopping.
One worker said she heard the gunman laughing as he was firing.
Survivor Kevin Harper, who also works at the supermarket, said: “It was the manager, one of the managers. Just left out the break room, manager came in and started capping people up in there. We lost a few of our associates.”
He said he ran as fast as he could out of the employee entrance. On his way out, he said he saw two people on the floor, including a bloodsoaked woman.
Joetta Jeffery said her mother, Betsy Umphlett, was in the store and sending her messages, but was not injured.
“I’m crying, I’m shaking,” Ms Jeffery said. “I had just talked to her about buying turkeys for Thanksgiving, then this text came in.”
Police chief Mark Solesky said: “There is no clear motive at this time.”
President Joe Biden said: “Because of yet another horrific and senseless act of violence, there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving.”
The US has recorded more than 600 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
It classes a mass shooting as one involving at least four people killed or injured, not including the shooter.
A manager came in there and started capping people up KEVIN HARPER WORKER WHO MANAGED TO FLEE