Multiple people were shot and killed inside a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, on Tuesday night, the second high-profile mass shooting in the US in three days, authorities said.
The shooter, whose name the authorities did not release, was found dead at the store on Tuesday night, Leo Kosinski, a spokesman with the Chesapeake Police Department, said in a brief news conference.
Mr Kosinski did not say exactly how many people had been fatally shot, but he said he believed it was “less than 10.”
The Police Department responded to a report of a shooting inside the Walmart about 10pm, he said. He added that when officers entered the store, they found “multiple fatalities and multiple injured” individuals.
Mr Kosinski said investigators did not know if the shooter was an employee or whether he had died by suicide. He added that he did not believe any shots had been fired by police officers.
Walmart tweeted: “We are shocked at this tragic event at our Chesapeake, Virginia store.
“We’re praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”
Mike Kafka, a spokesman for Sentara Healthcare, said five victims from the shooting are being treated at Norfolk General Hospital. Their conditions were not immediately available.
Photos and videos from the scene of the Walmart shooting showed officers huddling around the entrance of the building, with numerous police vehicles parked in the large lot of the store. A large inflatable Santa Claus stood outside the store.
Mr Kosinski said that officers were searching for more victims inside the Walmart. He noted that the large store “had a lot of hiding spots” for shoppers who had possibly sought cover during the shooting.
“People could get scared, they could be hiding,” he said. “We want to make sure that everyone is accounted for.”
Police tweeted that a family reunification site has been set up at the Chesapeake Conference Centre. This site is only for immediate family members or the emergency contact of those who may have been in the building, the tweet said.
Chesapeake had a population of about a quarter of a million people last year, according to the US Census Bureau. It is near Virginia’s Atlantic coast and the border with North Carolina.
In a shooting over the weekend, five people were killed at an LGBTQ club in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Earlier this month in Charlottesville, Virginia, three members of the University of Virginia football team were killed by a former football player, who opened fire in a garage, the authorities said.
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