Seven people, including the suspect, were killed in a mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia Tuesday night near Battlefield Boulevard, authorities said.
The city of Chesapeake tweeted earlier what it called an “active shooter incident with a fatality.”
Police say the shooter at a Walmart in Virginia was an employee.
Chesapeake Police Chief Mark G. Soleski told reporters Wednesday that the gunman killed himself. Six people have died and four people are being treated in the hospital.
Several others were injured in the shooting. The attacker’s motive is still unclear.
According to the police, a large number of both dead and injured were found inside the building where the shooting took place. It is suspected that the shooting took place from behind the store. A person was also found dead outside the front entrance, police said.
The shooting was reported to police at 10:12 p.m. The Walmart Supercenter opened that Tuesday and the night shift workers had just checked in.
Chesapeake Police spokesman Leo Kosinski said at a 12:40 p.m. press briefing that more updates were pending and that the injured had been taken to several area hospitals.
A spokesperson for Sentara Norfolk General Hospital told the media that five patients were being treated at the area’s closest Level 1 trauma center.
According to eyewitnesses, the shooting started when 14 employees were waiting for their work in the meeting room. Authorities are still working with eyewitnesses to gather information about the incident that day.
Witnesses told the media that they suspect the shooting was planned and targeted at other Walmart managers specifically.
No other updates were received from police as of Wednesday morning, but around 8 a.m. Chesapeake police are expected to hold a press conference at that time with fresh updates.
Police have not confirmed who the gunman was.
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