Andre Bing, 31, a supervisor at the Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart, bought a gun Tuesday and, a few hours later, used it to settle a score with co-workers who had "betrayed" him with their harassment. He killed six people before committing suicide. "Satan guides me," he wrote in a manifesto in which he detailed how he planned the massacre. "My god, forgive me for what I'm doing," concludes his text, revealed this Friday by the local police, once the names of the people cited by the alleged gunman have been erased.
The Walmart shooting was the third shooting in barely a week, after the five dead at Club Q in Colorado Springs and the three students killed at the University of Virginia.
While vigils are still being held in the Chesapeake, Bing's manifesto sheds light for the first time on his motives for taking action against his colleagues. The note, which was found on his mobile phone, explains that Bing felt the other employees were making fun of him and comparing him to a serial killer. He had planned his revenge under demonic influences to avenge "the torment" caused by his companions.
He really hunted, systematically, although he introduced distinctions. In his "death notice", he clarified that he was not going to kill a partner who had cancer because his mother died of that disease.
“I'm sorry, my god, I have failed you. It's not your fault, it's mine. I did not know how to listen to the groans of the holy spirit, which makes me a poor representative of you, ”he described after having acquired his weapon, a 9-millimeter pistol.
The new details offered by the city council this Friday indicated that "the pistol was legally bought in a local store on Tuesday morning." And they clarified that Bing had no criminal or police record
According to eyewitnesses, Bing opened fire around 10:00 p.m. that same day. He didn't say a word or give any warning about his intentions. After passing through the supermarket, he went to the break room and then shot in the food department. Among the deceased are several colleagues, among these three with whom he had worked for several years, while two others recently joined. The sixth deceased is a 16-year-old teenager.
Bing recounted that he was harassed "by idiots with little intelligence and lacking in wisdom" and especially mentioned an incident in which "all dignity disappeared" when he repaired his phone, which had been hacked. The manifesto includes anecdotes in which he considers that he was the target of his work colleagues, who intentionally laughed at him and "sabotaged" his life.
He maintained that in his existence he had only wanted to find a woman, but that "I did not deserve it," he stressed. “My real intention was not to kill anyone, believe it or not. I am one of the most loving people in the world if you get to know me,” she insisted. And he reiterated that he "was obsessed" with having a wife.
The United States has recorded more than 600 mass shootings for the third year in a row. According to Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit organization, this 2022 there are already 609 incidents, with which the forecast is that it will reach 675 by the end of the year. In 2021 there were 690, compared to 610 in 2020, when there was a substantial increase compared to 2019 (417).
"Why are there so many killings in the United States?" asked The New York Times. There are a series of circumstances, such as the violence of society, the racial division or the lack of mental treatment that are not exclusively typical of this country. “The only variable that can explain the high rate of mass shootings in the US – remarked the 'Times' - is the astronomical number of weapons”.
