Walmart shooting chief suspect left note addressed to God, police say
The prime suspect in the mass shooting that left six dead at a Walmart Supercenter in Chesapeake, Virginia, left a “death note” addressed to God on his phone, police said Friday.
Andre Bing, 31, said his actions weren’t planned, but things had fallen into place as if Satan was directing him, in the rambling note that was released by the Chesapeake Police Department on Friday. Bing added that he had not listened to the Holy Spirit.
In the document, Bing also said that he had lost his dignity after his phone was hacked.
Saying goodbye, he asked God for forgiveness for what he was about to do.
Police said in a statement that they found the note when “detectives conducted a forensic analysis of the phone of the suspect who was at the scene.”
The force could not say when the note was written and the motive for the deadly shooting was not immediately clear.
Bing, a former Walmart employee, opened fire in the store Tuesday, killing six people and injuring several more before dying of a self-inflicted wound.
He was found dead in a break room with two other deaths, the city of Chesapeake tweeted Wednesday. another victim he was found dead near the front of the store and the other three victims of the shooting were rushed to local hospitals but later died of their injuries, city officials said.
“The suspect used a 9mm handgun,” police said in the Friday statement, adding that it was “purchased legally at a local store” Tuesday morning.
A box of ammunition “and various items in reference to the 9mm pistol” was also found at his home, according to the statement.
Two people remained in the hospital, one in critical condition, while the condition of the other was improving, the statement added.
Asked by the Associated Press to comment on the Bing story, Walmart said in a statement: “There is nothing that can justify taking innocent lives. Our focus continues to be on bereaved families and supporting our associates at this difficult time.”
In a separate statement Wednesday, Walmart said Bing had been an overnight team leader who had been with the company since 2010.
Describing Bing as “weird,” Shaundrayia Reese, 27, also said Wednesday that she worked at the store from late 2014 to 2018, spending her four years working with him on the nightly inventory team.
She said Bing was “not into social media” and in a video she had once taken of her co-workers, Bing “jumped out of the way” to avoid being on camera.
However, Reese added that while “it was a little off,” he hadn’t talked about violence.
A vigil for the victims of the shooting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday at City Park in Chesapeake “so we can honor the victims and grieve together,” the city of Chesapeake said in a tweet.
“Today we are focused only on those injured by Tuesday’s tragic event, but the police investigation continues,” the city said.