Several people were fatally shot inside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., overnight Tuesday through Wednesday, according to a Chesapeake police spokesperson.
The shooter, whose name authorities have not released, was found dead inside the store on Tuesday evening, police department spokesman Leo Kosinski said at a brief press conference.
Leo Kosinski did not say how many people were shot and killed, but said he thought it was “less than 10”.
The police department responded to a report of a shooting inside the Walmart around 10 p.m., Kosinski said.
He added that when officers entered the store, they found “several dead and several injured”.
Mr. Kosinski said investigators do not know if the shooter was an employee or died by suicide. He added that he did not believe any shots were fired by police officers.
Walmart representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “I mean it’s sad, you know, it’s a few days before the Thanksgiving holiday,” Kosinski said.
This is at least the second mass shooting in the country in less than a week. Five people were killed in a shooting at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado last weekend.
Earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia, three members of the University of Virginia football team were killed when a former football player opened fire in a garage, authorities said.
Photos and video from the scene of the Walmart shooting showed officers crowding around the entrance to the building, with numerous police vehicles parked in the store’s large parking lot. A large inflatable Santa stood outside the store.
Mr. Kosinski said as of late Tuesday night into Wednesday, officers were searching for other victims inside the Walmart.
He noted that the department store “had plenty of hiding places” for customers who may have sought cover during the shooting.
“People could be scared, they could hide,” Kosinski said. We want to make sure everyone is taken into account. »
This article was originally published in the New York Times.