Virginia Walmart mass shooting: Store to close for the 'foreseeable future'

Employees will continue to be paid, the company said.

ByMorgan Winsor, Josh Margolin, Aaron Katersky, Emily Shapiro, Meredith Deliso, Nadine El-Bawab, Beatrice Peterson, Arthur Jones II, and Jay O'Brien
Last Updated: November 23, 2022, 8:42 AM EST

A Virginia community is reeling after a man armed with a handgun shot and killed six people and injured several others in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake.

Survivors said the gunman walked into a break room and opened fire on Nov. 22.

The suspect, a current employee, died at the scene from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.

Two victims remain in the hospital and two have been released, Walmart said Tuesday.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the news is developing. All times Eastern.
Nov 23, 2022, 8:42 AM EST

Gunman may have been a store manager, sources say

Preliminary information indicates a gunman walked into the break room of a Chesapeake Walmart and opened fire at people before shooting himself, law enforcement sources told ABC News.

The suspect was an employee of that store and, possibly, a manager, according to the sources.

Law enforcement sources also told ABC News that authorities are investigating whether the shooting was a case of workplace violence.

-ABC News' Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin and Pierre Thomas

Nov 23, 2022, 8:24 AM EST

Suspect was an employee, police say

The suspect in Tuesday night's mass shooting at the Walmart on Sam's Circle in Chesapeake is believed to be a current employee and appears to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Chesapeake Police Chief Mark Solesky.

"We have reason to believe that there's no risk to the public at this time," Soleksy said during a press conference on Wednesday morning. "We cannot tell you the identity of the shooter because his next of kin has not been notified."

Police received the initial 911 call at 10:12 p.m. local time. Officers responded to the scene within two minutes and entered the store at 10:16 p.m. local time, where they found the deceased suspect and multiple victims. A pistol was recovered and the scene was declared safe by 11:20 p.m. local time, according to Soleksy, who described the shooting as "senseless violence."

"This investigation is still ongoing, so there's no clear motive at this time," he told reporters. "We'll be processing that scene for days."