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Teenage employee among 6 killed in Chesapeake Walmart shooting

walmart shooting victims
Posted at 10:26 AM, Nov 24, 2022
and last updated 2023-11-14 14:19:29-05

Editor's Note: On Wednesday, Nov. 23, in the hours following the mass shooting at the Chesapeake Walmart, News 3 spoke with a woman who said her cousin, Blake Williams, was the victim of the shooting and he was being treated at the hospital. Chesapeake Police have now confirmed none of the victims or survivors of the shooting were named Blake Williams. News 3 regrets the error.

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) — A 16-year-old helping his family. A custodian and father of two. A mother with wedding plans. A happy-go-lucky guy. A longtime employee.

That's how friends and family described some of the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, when a manager opened fire with a handgun right before an employee meeting. Five adults have been identified, while authorities have not released the name of the sixth person killed, a 16-year-old boy.

Here are some details about those who were lost:

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Fernando Chavez-Barron, 16, of Chesapeake

Fernando Chavez-Barron
Fernando Chavez-Barron, the youngest of the victims killed in the Nov. 22, 2022, mass shooting at a Walmart in Chesapeake.

Family and friends dressed in white honored Chavez-Barron at a vigil in the Walmart parking lot on Thursday night. His friends told The Virginian-Pilot that it was hard to believe that he was gone.

Family friend Rosy Perez told The New York Times that the teen attended a local high school while working the overnight shift at Walmart to assist his family.

“He wanted to help a little bit,” Perez said. “He was a very good child.”

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Kellie Pyle, 52, of Chesapeake

Kellie Pyle.jpg
Kellie Pyle, one of the victims, in the Chesapeake Walmart shooting on Nov. 22, 2022.

Pyle was remembered as a generous and kind person, a mother who had wedding plans in the near future.

"We love her," said Gwendolyn Bowe Baker Spencer. "She was going to marry my son next year. She was an awesome, kind individual — yes she was."

Pyle had adult children in Kentucky who will be traveling to Virginia in the wake of the tragedy, Spencer said.

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Brian Pendleton, 38, of Chesapeake

brian pendleton walmart victim.jpg

Pendleton made sure to be punctual. Although his shift as a custodian started at 10:30 p.m., he was in the break room when the shooting started just after 10, according to his mother, Michelle Johnson.

"He always came to work early so he would be on time for work," she told The Associated Press Wednesday. "He liked his coworkers."

Pendleton had recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary working at the store.

His mother said he didn't have any problems at work, except with a supervisor, Andre Bing, who was identified as the gunman.

"He just didn't like my son," Johnson said. "He would tell me that he (Bing) would give him a hard time."

Pendleton was born with a congenital brain disorder and grew up in Chesapeake, his mother said.

"He called me yesterday before he was going to work," Johnson said. "I always tell him to call me when gets off work."

As she was getting ready for bed, Johnson got a call from a family friend telling her there was a shooting at the Walmart.

"Brian was a happy-go-lucky guy. Brian loved family. Brian loved friends. He loved to tell jokes," his mother said. "We're going to miss him."

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Lorenzo Gamble, 43, of Chesapeake

Lorenzo Gamble.jpg
Lorenzo Gamble, one of the victims of the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting on Nov. 22, 2022.

Gamble was a custodian on the overnight shift and had worked at Walmart for 15 years, The Washington Post reported.

His parents Linda and Alonzo Gamble said he loved spending time with his two sons.

"He just kept to himself and did his job," Linda Gamble said. "He was the quiet one of the family."

His mother said Gamble enjoyed going to his 19-year-old's football games and cheering for the Washington Commanders NFL team.

She posted on Facebook that she's having trouble saying goodbye.

"Missing my baby right now, life is not same without my son," she wrote.

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Randy Blevins, 70, of Chesapeake

Randy Blevins.jpg
Randy Blevins, one of the victims of the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting on Nov. 22, 2022.

Blevins was a longtime member of the store's team that set prices and arranged merchandise, The New York Times reported.

Former co-worker Shaundrayia Reese, who said she worked at the store from around 2015 to 2018, spoke fondly of Blevins as "Mr. Randy."

She said the overnight crew at the store was "a family" and that employees relied on one another.

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Tyneka Johnson, 22, of Portsmouth

Tyneka Johnson.jpg
Tyneka Johnson, one of the victims in the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting on Nov. 22, 2022.

A makeshift memorial to Johnson was placed in a grassy area outside the Walmart, with the words "Our Hearts are with you" and a basket of flowers.

The remembrance included a cluster of blue, white and gold balloons tied to a tree, alongside a stark yellow line of police tape.

Related: How you can help victims' families of the Chesapeake Walmart mass shooting