A shooting Tuesday night at a Walmart supermarket in Chesapeake, Virginia, killed six people in addition to the shooter, the municipality said Wednesday, days after a similar incident at a gay nightclub in Colorado sparked great sympathy in the country.

"Chesapeake Police confirm seven victims, including shooter, in shooting last night at Walmart at Sam's Circle," the municipality announced in a tweet.

And the shooter is the only suspect in the new incident, which took place in the city of Chesapeake, located at a distance of 240 km from Washington.

"We found several victims and a number of wounded," Leo Kosinski, the city's police chief, told reporters, noting that the intervention teams stormed the store "immediately" upon their arrival at the site after receiving an emergency call at 22:00 (3:00 GMT Wednesday).

"We believe we have one shooter and he is dead," he added.

Images broadcast by the news media showed a large number of policemen at the scene of the shooting. Kosinski said investigators are conducting thorough searches of the store and securing its perimeter.

The Walmart Group tweeted that it was "shocked at this tragic incident at our store in Chesapeake, Virginia."

- 'Deeply affected' -

"We are cooperating closely with law enforcement agencies," the retail giant added.

"I am deeply moved... I will not rest until we find solutions to end this scourge of gun violence that has taken the lives of so many in our country," Virginia Senator Louise Lucas said in a tweet.

"Tragically, our community is experiencing a horrible gun violence incident as families gather for Thanksgiving," Rep. Bobby Scott, a Virginia Democrat, said in a tweet.

The Walmart shooting comes three days after a shooting Saturday night left at least five people dead and 18 injured at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs during an annual celebration for transgender victims.

Two patrons of the club confronted the Colorado Springs shooter, who was arrested and identified as Anderson Lee Aldrich, 22. He is likely to be tried for first degree murder and a hate crime, which carries a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

In the United States, a "hate crime" refers to an act directed against a person because of components of their identity such as race, religion, nationality, sexual orientation, or disability. It is an aggravated federal crime punishable by very harsh sentences.

Gun violence is a major problem in the United States, with more than 600 shootings targeting a group of people in 2022 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

These shootings have reignited debate about gun controls, although there has been little progress in Congress on adopting reforms.
Source: AFP