Nov. 23 (UPI) — A gunman opened fire at a Chesapeake, Va., Walmart late Tuesday, killing and injuring multiple people, authorities and officials said.
The number of casualties was unknown early Wednesday as officers continued to clear the building on Sam’s Circle in Chesapeake, a city of some 251,000 people located about 100 miles southeast of Richmond.
Among the dead was the suspected shooter, authorities said.
Leo Kosinski, public information officer with the Chesapeake Police Department, told reporters during a press briefing that officers responded to a call of a shooting at the Walmart Supercenter at about 10:12 p.m.
When officers arrived, they realized an active threat situation was unfolding and adopted “an active threat response,” he said. Officers then entered the building and located multiple people dead and injured.
Authorities believe there was only one shooter. Asked if the gunman had died in a police-involved shooting, Kosinski said: “I don’t believe so.”
Kosinski said officers were working to clear the building to locate other potential victims or those in hiding.
The Washington Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they were en route to assist in the investigation.
The City of Chesapeake had earlier confirmed via Twitter that there had been “an active shooter incident” at the Walmart, resulting in multiple fatalities.
“I am absolutely heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place in a Walmart in my district in Chesapeake, Virginia, tonight,” State Sen. Louise Lucas, a Democrat, said in a statement. “I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives.”
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said he was “sickened by reports of yet another mass shooting.”
The city said a reunification site has been established at the Chesapeake Conference Center for immediate family members or the emergency contacts of those who may have been at the Walmart during the shooting.
This is a developing story.
