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Virginia Walmart gunman left a 'death note' saying he felt harassed by coworkers

Members of the FBI investigate Tuesdays fatal shooting at the Chesapeake Walmart Supercenter on Wednesday in Chesapeake, Virginia. Six people, including the suspected gunman, are dead following.
Nathan Howard
/
Getty Images
Members of the FBI investigate Tuesdays fatal shooting at the Chesapeake Walmart Supercenter on Wednesday in Chesapeake, Virginia. Six people, including the suspected gunman, are dead following.

Updated November 25, 2022 at 2:42 PM ET

Officials in Chesapeake, Va., confirmed in a statement that the Walmart supervisor who fatally shot six coworkers inside the store on Tuesday left a note in his phone in which he described being harassed.

"Sorry everyone but I did not plan this I promise things just fell in place like I was led by the Satan," Andre Bing wrote in a letter titled "death note" that was stored on his phone.

"My only wish would have been to start over from scratch and that my parents would have paid closer attention to my social deficits."

Police also confirmed on Friday that Bing used a 9mm handgun, which was legally purchased the morning of the shooting. A box of ammunition and a receipt for the gun were discovered during a police search of his home.

The note, which authorities redacted in a several places to protect the names of specific people, described how Bing "lost his dignity" when he believed his phone was hacked.

"I was harassed by idiots with low intelligence and a lack of wisdom," he wrote. "The associates gave me evil twisted grins, mocked me and celebrated my down fall the last day."

This photo provided by Virginia DMV shows Andre Bing.
/ AP
/
AP
This photo provided by Virginia DMV shows Andre Bing.

Bing was found dead inside the breakroom from what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say he had no criminal history and was dressed in civilian clothing, without body armor.

In a statement, Walmart said Bing had been employed with the company since 2010. His position at the time of the shooting was "overnight team lead."

Tuesday night's violence was the nation's second high-profile mass shooting in four days and the second high-profile supermarket shooting this year.

Police have identified the victims as Brian Pendleton, 38; Kellie Pyle, 52; Lorenzo Gamble, 43; Randy Blevins, 70; and Fernando Chavez-Barron, 16, who were all from Chesapeake. Tyneka Johnson, 22, of nearby Portsmouth, was also among the dead.

A Walmart spokesperson confirmed in an email that all of the victims worked for the company.

Another four people were hospitalized in the shooting, which happened just after 10 p.m. ET.. Police say there were about 50 people in the store at the time. Many were stocking up ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Emily Olson
Emily Olson is on a three-month assignment as a news writer and live blog editor, helping shape NPR's digital breaking news strategy.