(CHESAPEAKE, VA)– A woman who survived a shooting in a Walmart store in Virginia is now suing Walmart after she says the store was warned about the gunman’s behavior towards employees, but the store continued to employ him anyway.
Donya Prioleau who works at the store, filed the $50 million lawsuit in Chesapeake Circuit Court Tuesday, alleging that the gunman, 31-year-old Andre Bing, “demonstrated a pattern of disturbing behavior leading up to the shooting, which Walmart knew, or should have known.”
Prioleau reported that several employees filed complaints about Bing “bullying, threatening, and harassing other employees,” prior to the shooting.
While Bing, who’d worked for the store since 2010, was briefly disciplined by being demoted from a leadership role, Prioleau says management eventually gave him back his position as team leader.
Bing then opened fire inside of the store last week, killing six people before killing himself.
Prioleau says since the shooting she has experienced psychological harm, sleeplessness, severe anxiety, stomach pain, and arm and knee injuries.
She is seeking compensatory damages as well as other costs.
While no motive has been made public one employee told reporters that she believes the attack was planned and that Bing seemed to be targeting managers.
Another employee told reporters that she heard Bing once told another employee that if the store were to ever fire him, he would come back and kill everyone.
None of those reports have been confirmed by investigators.