Yesterday a Walmart Supercenter in Chesapeake, Virginia, became the location for the third high-profile shooting in the last two weeks and only the second in the last four days. The shooter killed six victims and hospitalized four others before taking his own life. The police arrived on the scene at 10:14 p.m., just two minutes after the first person called 911. By 11:20 p.m., the police had the entire store cleared out.
This is all the information that has been disclosed at the moment, but there are still very many unknowns. Among the unknown variables is the name of the shooter. Earlier today, the Chesapeake police chief, Mark Solesky, stated that the shooter’s identity could not be disclosed until after his family was notified, as the gunman was found dead at the scene, presumably by a self-inflicted bullet wound. It was confirmed, however, that the shooter was an employee at the store where the shooting took place.
It is still unclear who the victims are yet, and if they were being targeted or if they were randomly selected by the shooter. It has also not been confirmed whether the victims were employees, shoppers, or a mix of the two, nor has it been determined how many people were there when the shooting broke out.
What we do know is that this tragic event is only the latest of its kind to occur over the last two weeks. Just three days prior to this event, was a shooting in Colorado at a gay nightclub that resulted in the death of 5 people and the injuries of 17 people. Additionally, last week the state of Virginia was dealing with a different shooting that occurred at the University of Virginia, wherein a former college football player killed three others. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has since responded to the series of shootings within the state, saying, “heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities.”
In recent years, the state has attempted to place more regulations on guns. However, the state is also home to the NRA. These attempts to change policy, however, resulted in armed protests back in 2020. Despite this, though, there have since been some changes to gun control policy implemented in the state, with the implementation of mandatory background checks and limits on the number of firearms that may be purchased. Despite these changes though, there continues to be gun violence within the state, as we’ve seen within the last two weeks.
