Seven dead, including gunman, at Walmart shooting in Virginia

A man opened fire inside a Walmart store in the US city of Chesapeake (Virginia) on Tuesday night, killing six people and injuring an unconfirmed number. The shooter is also dead, the police said. At least five victims were being treated at Sentara General Hospital in nearby Norfolk, the local station WTKR reported.

Over 40 patrol cars and emergency vehicles showed up at the scene around 10.15pm, responding to a call about a mass shooting. The store was still open to the public at that time, with Americans gearing up for Thanksgiving on Thursday.

For Virginians, this is the second shooting in just over a week. On November 13, a 22-year-old University of Virginia student killed three football players aboard a bus.

This past Saturday, a 22-year-old man burst into a LGBTQ+ bar in the city of Colorado Springs, killed five people and injured 18 others before being subdued by patrons.

As of 2020, the United States annually exceeds 600 mass shootings (defined as incidents where four or more people have been injured or killed). This year is no exception. As of Monday, 606 such incidents had been registered, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Last year set a new record with 690 mass shootings and 20,900 victims.