The victims in Tuesday’s Walmart shooting in Virginia ranged from 16 to 70, and worked across departments in the store.
Police said two of the victims and the shooter, overnight manager Andre Bing, were found dead in the Chesapeake store’s break room, as CrimeOnline reported. Three more died in the hospital. Six people were wounded. Coworkers described the overnight team as “family” and were devastated.
The fatal victims have been identified as:
Lorenzo Gamble, 43. An overnight custodian, Gamble had been with Walmart for 15 years and was in charge of banana pudding and banana pudding cake for his family’s Thanksgiving, his mother said. “I just wanted my boys to spend time with me,” Linda Gamble said. – Washington Post
Kellie Pyle, 42. Pyle, a grandmother, had recently returned to Virginia from Indiana after a divorce. “We always said we were going to grow old together,” her cousin, Billy Pillar-Gibson, said. “None of this makes sense. In the whole scheme of things, we’re still young.” – Washington Post
Tyneka Johnson, 22. Johnson “was a light in a dim room,” according to Cacheba Cannon, Johnson’s tutor during her early high school years and who remained close. She had an affinity for music and dancing and was always available to help other students, Cannon said. – Washington Post
Brian Pendleton, 38. Pendleton, a maintenance worker, was described by one former coworker as “one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met in my life.” “He never raised his voice, never had a bad bone in his body,” Shaundrayia Reese said. “Nobody could ever say anything bad about that man. … He didn’t deserve to die like that.” – New York Times
Randy Blevins, 70. Blevins was part of the overnight crew’s “modular team,” which set prices and arranged merchandise in the store. He had worked there for more than 20 years and was “a sweet soul who always had a smile on his face,” a friend wrote on Facebook. His cousin, Virgil Wemmer, said he was planning his retirement in the next year. – Facebook
A 16-year-old boy was also killed in the shooting, but police did not identify him because he was a minor. Walmart confirmed the adults worked at the store but did not say if the teen was an employee.
[Featured image: L-R: Randy Blevins, Lorenzo Gamble, Tyneka Johnson, Brian Pendleton, and Kellie Pyle/Chesapeake Police Department]
