US Walmart shooter legally purchased handgun on morning of attack: Police

Washington, Nov 26

The gunman, who fatally shot six people at a Walmart in Chesapeake of the US state of Virginia, legally purchased a handgun, police said.

The attacker, identified as 31-year-old Andre Bing, died of a self-inflicted wound before police responded to the shooting late Tuesday evening.

Police on Friday added that Bing, who reportedly worked as an overnight shift lead at Chesapeake supermarket since 2010, used a 9mm handgun legally purchased from a local store, Xinhua news agency reported.

He had no criminal history before the shooting that also led to the injuries of four people.

Investigators conducted a forensic analysis of the shooter's phone, which was located at the scene, and found a "death note" located in the device.

The City of Chesapeake tweeted on Thursday that "there are still two people injured in the hospital, one in critical condition and the other in fair/improving condition".

"On this Thanksgiving, we are extra thankful for our community and we are thinking of every victim of the Walmart shooting and their family members," it wrote.

A vigil for the victims of the shooting was scheduled for Monday evening at City Park in Chesapeake.

The Walmart massacre came only days after a deadly mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in which five people died and 19 others were injured.

A gunman entered the club and opened fire with an AR-15-style rifle before being taken into custody.

US President Joe Biden renewed his call to ban assault weapons on Thursday.

"I'm going to try to get rid of assault weapons," Biden told reporters during a visit to firefighters in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

"I'm sick and tired of these shootings," Biden said on Thursday. "We should have much stricter gun laws."

However, the chance of a ban on assault weapons passing through the US Congress is all but impossible in the near future.

Republicans will take control of the House of Representatives next term and is likely to oppose legislation to curb gun rights.

The US has suffered more than 600 mass shootings so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Last year, the country saw a staggering number of 690 mass shootings, up from 610 in 2020 and 417 in 2019.