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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
National
Rachel Sharp

Walmart gunman Andre Bing had ‘kill list’ of colleagues at Chesapeake store, says report

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Walmart shooting suspect Andre Bing made a “kill list” of colleagues at the store in Chesapeake, Virginia, before carrying out Tuesday’s horror attack, according to a report.

A printed list of names of employees, their shift hours, their departments and their work duties was discovered in the trash outside the gunman’s home on Thursday, reported Dailymail.com.

The list included the names of some of the victims circled in pen, including 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson who died in the massacre.

Also circled on the list was Jalon Jones, one of the victims who was shot but survived.

The other five victims killed in Tuesday night’s shooting – Brian Pendleton, Randall Blevins, Lorenzo Gamble, Kellie Pyle and Fernando Jesus Chavez – were not on the list.

The list was reportedly turned over to authorities who have not commented on the finding.

The Independent has reached out to the Chesapeake officials for comment.

As yet, it is unclear if the document revealed his intended targets or was simply a work roster – with officials releasing a different document which the killer described as his “death note”.

Survivors of the shooting have said that Bing appeared to be “hunting” for certain colleagues during the mass shooting – with one employee Jessica Wilczewski revealing that he spared her life in the attack.

She told CNN that the gunman saw her hiding under the table in the break room and pointed the gun at her. But instead of shooting her, she said he told her to “go home” and let her go.

Ms Wilczewski’s name was one of the names circled on the list found outside Bing’s home.

Andre Bing killed six colleagues before turning the gun on himself (Chesapeake Police)

On Friday morning, Chesapeake officials released a chilling “death note” in which Bing complained that people “laughed at me and said I was like Jeffrey Dahmer”.

The long, rambling note was found on the 31-year-old mass shooter’s cellphone and released by Chesapeake officials on Friday morning – providing a glimpse into his motive behind the horror attack.

In the document, which Bing described as his “death note”, he complained about being “harassed by idiots” who had compared him to the infamous cannibal serial killer Dahmer.

He wrote: “I would have never killed anyone that would have entered my home.”

Bing also claimed that his “intent was never murder” but suggested that the tipping point for him was when his phone was allegedly hacked.

“I only did it when I realized that my phone was hacked and was giving the worst feeling imaginable,” he said.

He also claimed that he had “just wanted a wife” but “didn’t deserve” one.

Throughout the rambling note, Bing’s biggest anger appears to be directed at his coworkers at Walmart, making several references to the “management team” and “the associates” who he said “laughed and made subtle code speeches which I eventually figured out”.

Names were also redacted from the document. It is not clear if these individuals are the victims he killed in the attack.

Bing – who colleagues revealed was paranoid and would cover his cellphone with tape for fear the government was watching him – claimed that a friend had allegedly “betrayed” him and that he overheard people saying they “were trying to get rid of me since day one”.

He said that he “lashed out” after hearing that.

Andre Bing’s ‘death note’ reveals his issues with employees and paranoia that his phone was hacked (Chesapeake City)

He continued with an ominous warning: “The associates gave me evil twisted grins, mocked me and celebrated my downfall the last day. Thats why they suffer the same fate as me.”

“Sorry God I’ve failed you, this was not your fault but my own,” the note began.

“I was harassed by idiots with low intelligence and a lack of wisdom I remained strong through most of the torment but my dignity was completely taken away beyond repair by my phone getting hacked.

“I can’t say that they were the only ones that lacked intelligence and wisdom, I was just as guilty and failed my management team and everyone that ever loved me by convincing them that I was normal.”

As well as trying to blame his colleagues for his murderous rampage, Bing also pointed the finger at his parents who he said he wished had “paid closer attention to my social deficits”.

“My true intent was never to murder anyone believe it or not, I was actually one of the most loving people in the world if you would get to know me,” he said before adding that he “just wanted a wife”.

He went on to claim that he was showing mercy to an individual, whose name was redacted, because his mother died from cancer – before making a bizarre statement that “let everyone know that bitter seed apricots cure cancer not the Dr.”

He signed off the memo with a chilling note: “May god forgive me for what I am going to do.”

Bing had worked for Walmart for 12 years and was an overnight team lead at the Chesapeake store.

Police revealed on Friday that he legally bought a 9mm handgun on Tuesday morning from a local store – just hours before using it to murder his colleagues.

The shooting unfolded inside the store break room when witnesses say the suspect entered and began “spraying” bullets around the room, before turning the gun on himself.

Police were called to reports of an active shooting at the store at 10.12pm on Tuesday.

The first officers arrived on the scene two minutes later at 10.14pm and entered the store two minutes after that at around 10.16pm.

Officers found the suspect dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the break room along with two of his alleged victims. Another victim was found dead toward the front of the store. Three other victims were rushed to hospital where they died from their injuries.

At least six other surviving victims were taken to local hospitals for further treatment.

One of those victims – Blake Williams – is fighting for his life on a ventilator after being shot in the attack, his family members have revealed.

Bing had no criminal history prior to Tuesday’s massacre.

Lashana Hicks, left, joins other mourners at a memorial for those killed in fatal shooting at Chesapeake Walmart (Getty Images)

But, in the aftermath, his coworkers have painted a picture of an employee who had a lot of “issues” with other staff members and had displayed threatening behaviour in the run-up to the shooting.

Joshua Johnson, a former Walmart employee who worked as a maintenance worker at the store until 2019, said that the 31-year-old had given a harrowing warning about what he could do if he ever lost his job.

“He said if he ever got fired from his job he would retaliate and people would remember who he was,” Mr Johnson told CNN.

Another former employee, who worked with the alleged gunman at the store from 2015 to 2018, revealed that he was paranoid about the government watching him.

“He was always saying the government was watching him. He didn’t like social media and he kept black tape on his phone camera. Everyone always thought something was wrong with him,” said Shaundrayia Reese.

“He didn’t like to be recorded. He was always scared that the government was listening.”

A Walmart employee who survived the shooting told 10 On Your Side that she believed the attack was planned because the perpetrator was known to have “issues” with other managers at the branch.

He appeared to target other managers and was heard laughing at one point during the attack, she claimed.

The mass shooting marks just the latest to rock America, after five people were killed in a massacre inside an LGBT+ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Saturday night and three University of Virginia star football players were shot and killed as they returned to campus from a field trip one week earlier.

Back in 2019, a Walmart store was also the site of another horror mass shooting. A total of 23 people were killed in a mass shooting in a store in the city of El Paso, Texas.

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