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The US authorities reported on November 23 that an employee of the Walmart chain in Virginia opened fire on his colleagues on Tuesday night and left at least seven people dead and several injured. Among the deceased is the attacker. President Joe Biden condemned the attack and called for the nation to unite against gun violence.
Virginia experiences the second fatal shooting in about a week. Police established that a man who worked as a manager at a Walmart store was responsible for the tragedy.
On the night of Tuesday, November 22, when dozens of people were in the place advancing their purchases for Thanksgiving, the employee fired at his colleagues.
The man killed six people and took his own life, authorities confirmed this Wednesday, November 23. In addition, four individuals were injured.
Briana Tyler, an employee of the establishment, assured that the incident occurred when the workers met in the store’s break room as they used to do before their shifts.
“I looked up and my manager opened the door and opened fire. Several people fell to the ground (…) He didn’t say a word, he didn’t say anything at all, ”the woman told the local ‘ABC’ channel.
For her part, Jessie Wilczewski, another of the store workers, narrated that she hid under a table, the attacker looked at her pointing his gun at her and told her to leave.
“It didn’t even seem real until you could feel the sound of the shots,” he said.
The latest episode of gun violence in the United States sparked another round of condemnation from public officials and calls from activists for stricter gun control.
“Heinous acts of violence have no place in our communities,” said state Governor Glenn Youngkin.
The Republican leader’s remarks come as he faces rising calls for policies to address gun violence.
On November 13, three University of Virginia football players died and two were injured after a man who was also part of the educational institution shot them on a bus as they were returning to campus after attending a field trip. . The attacker is in custody.
“Another Horrible and Senseless Act”: Biden Condemns Recent Shooting
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, lamented the fateful events at the Walmart store and called for a reform in the field of weapons.
“Due to another horrific and senseless act of violence, there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving. Now there are more families who know the worst kind of loss and pain imaginable,” the president said in a statement issued by the White House.
The Democratic leader called on citizens to unite as a nation to take significant action against violence.
“This year I signed the most significant gun control reform in a generation, but this is not enough. We must take further action,” he stressed.
President Biden’s statement on the deadly mass shooting in Chesapeake, VA:
“Yet another senseless act of violence… We must take greater action [on gun reform].” pic.twitter.com/XHWLCdAB4A
— The Recount (@therecount) November 23, 2022
Biden’s condemnation was joined by Rick West, mayor of Chesapeake, the town where the shooting occurred.
“I am devastated by the senseless act of violence that took place last night in our city (…) Chesapeake is a very close community, and we are all shocked by this news,” he stressed.
A database managed by the US news agency AP, the newspaper ‘USA Today’ and Northeastern University, which tracks all the mass murders that have occurred in the country since 2006, indicates that this year has been especially violent.
So far in 2022 the nation has recorded 40 mass murders, up from 45 for all of 2019. The database defines a mass murder as at least four people killed, not including the perpetrator.
With Reuters, AP and local media
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