The Virginia Walmart employee who killed six of his coworkers in a mass shooting last week asked if they received active shooting training weeks before unleashing his massacre, a new lawsuit says.
Killer Andre Bing would ask his peers the ominous question, but would only smile and walk away when they answered in the affirmative, a lawsuit filed Tuesday by shooting survivor Donya Prioleau against Walmart claims.
Prioleau, who was in the Chesapeake store’s break room with about 14 other coworkers when Bing burst in and opened fire Nov. 22 night, is suing the mega-corporation for $50 million for keeping the killer on the payroll in spite of his disturbing behavior leading up to the massacre.
Donya Prioleau claims Walmart knew that Bing, the store’s overnight team manager, had “propensities for violence, threats and strange behavior.”
Bing allegedly told coworkers “he ran over a turtle with a lawnmower just to see its (guts) spray out, which made him hungry and reminded him of ramen noodles.”
In the time leading up to the shooting, Bing “made comments to other Walmart employees and managers suggesting that he would be violent if fired or disciplined,” the suit states. Bing had been disciplined several times, but was never fired since he was brought onto the team in 2010.
The filing also states that Walmart supervisors disciplined Bing prior to his attack, “making his violent outburst predictable.”
Before the attack, Prioleau had submitted a formal complaint on a Walmart Global Ethics Statement Form alleging that Bing had “bizarrely and inappropriately commented on Ms. Prioleau’s age,” the lawsuit stated.
“Isn’t your lady clock ticking? Shouldn’t you be having kids?” Bing allegedly asked her.
Bing also harassed her for “being poor and being short” and once called her a “bitch” under his breath,” the lawsuit states.
Prioleau’s mother even became involved and expressed her concerns to another Walmart manager about her daughter’s safety “because it appeared their concerns were falling on deaf ears.”
Bing was known to feud with other employees and was remembered by many as paranoid.
“He was always saying the government was watching him. He didn’t like social media and he kept black tape on his phone camera,” Walmart worker Shaundrayia Reese said. “Everyone always thought something was wrong with him.”
Bing left behind a manifesto on his phone complaining that other employees harassed him. He also had a kill list of colleagues he wanted to target in the massacre.
He killed 38-year-old Brian Pendleton; 52-year-old Kellie Pyle; 43-year-old Lorenzo Gamble; 70-year-old Randy Belvins; 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson; and 16-year-old Fernando Chavez-Barron before turning the gun on himself.
Prioleau said she is suffering from physical and emotional distress and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Bullets whizzed by Plaintiff Donya Prioleau’s face and left side, barely missing her,” the lawsuit states. “She witnessed several of her coworkers being brutally murdered on either side of her.”
“Ms. Prioleau looked at one of her coworkers in the eyes right after she had been shot in the neck. Ms. Prioleau saw the bullet wound in her coworker’s neck, the blood rushing out of it, and the shocked look on her coworker’s helpless face.”
Walmart said in a statement that it is reviewing the complaint and will respond “as appropriate with the court.”
With Post Wires