Walmart employee kills seven, including himself, in Virginia shooting

Six other people were confirmed dead and four were being treated at area hospitals.

 A person waits at a Walmart Pharmacy in West Haven, Connecticut (photo credit: REUTERS)
A person waits at a Walmart Pharmacy in West Haven, Connecticut
(photo credit: REUTERS)

A Walmart employee killed six people and wounded several others before fatally shooting himself at a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, authorities said, just days after a gunman killed five and injured 17 at a Colorado LGBTQ+ nightclub.

The shooter, who has not been identified, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky said at a news conference on Wednesday.

Six other people were confirmed dead and four were being treated at area hospitals, Solesky said.

The shooter used a pistol and was an employee of the Walmart where the shooting took place, Solesky said.

Tuesday's bloodshed was the latest episode of gun violence in the United States which has fueled debate over tighter restrictions on access to guns.

A police officer stands next to a police cordon after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso (credit: JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS)
A police officer stands next to a police cordon after a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso (credit: JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ/REUTERS)

Walmart said in a statement early Wednesday that it was "shocked" at the violence and that it was working closely with law enforcement.

"Sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting, this time at a Walmart in Chesapeake. I'll be monitoring developments closely," Virginia senator Mark Warner tweeted on Wednesday.

The Washington, DC, field office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is assisting local police in the investigation, the bureau tweeted.


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Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas turned to social media in response to the events of the evening.