"Our first responders are well-trained and ready to respond; please give them space to do so," the statement continued.
Digital Desk: A gunman shot and killed multiple
people in a Walmart store in the US state of Virginia late Tuesday, police and
city officials said, adding that the shooter was also killed.
"We were able to find multiple fatalities and multiple
injured parties," Chesapeake Police Department officer Leo Kosinski told
reporters at the scene, adding that rapid response officers
"immediately" entered the store when they arrived.
"We believe it was a single shooter, and that
single shooter is currently deceased," he added.
On Twitter, the City of Chesapeake also stated that
police "confirmed an active shooter incident with fatalities at the
Walmart on Sam's Circle."
"Our
first responders are well-trained and ready to respond; please give them space
to do so," the statement continued.
There was a large police
presence at the scene, according to news footage, with Kosinski saying several
officers and investigators were combing through the store and securing the
area.
The exact number of
fatalities was unknown, but CBS affiliate WUSA reported that police believed no
more than ten people were killed.
The region's state senator,
Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas, said she was "absolutely
heartbroken" that "America's latest mass shooting occurred in a
Walmart in my district in Chesapeake, Virginia tonight."
"I will not rest until
we find solutions to end our country's gun violence epidemic that has taken so
many lives," she said on Twitter.
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