CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) – Caregiver and father of two. A mother with wedding plans. A happy boy.
That’s how friends and family described some of the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., when a manager opened fire with a gun just before a meeting with employees. 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 the lost:
Kellie Pyle, 52, of Chesapeake
Chesapeake Police Department via Associated Press
Pyle was remembered as a generous and kind person, a mother who planned a wedding in the near future.
“We love her,” said Gwendolyn Bowe Baker Spencer. “She was going to marry my son next year. He was a wonderful, kind person, yes he was.”
Pyle had children who grew up in Kentucky who will travel to Virginia after the tragedy, Spencer said.
Brian Pendleton, 38, of Chesapeake
Chesapeake Police Department via Associated Press
Pendleton made sure he was on time. Although her custodial shift began at 10:30 p.m., according to her mother, Michelle Johnson, she was in the break room when filming began shortly after 10 a.m.
“He always ended up working early to get to work on time,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “He liked his colleagues”
Pendleton recently celebrated his 10th anniversary working at the store.
His mother said he had no problems at work, except for a supervisor, Andre Bing, who was identified as the gunman.
“He just didn’t like my son,” Johnson said. “He (Bing) told me it was going to make it difficult for him.”
Pendleton was born with a congenital brain disorder and grew up in Chesapeake, his mother said.
“He called me yesterday before he went to work,” Johnson said. “I always tell him to call me when he gets off work.”
As he was getting ready for bed, Johnson received a call from a family friend telling him there had been a shooting at Walmart.
“Brian was a happy boy. Brian loved his family. Brian loved friends. He loved to tell jokes,” his mother said. “We’re going to miss him.”
Lorenzo Gamble, 43, of Chesapeake
Chesapeake Police Department via Associated Press
Gamble was a night shift janitor and worked at Walmart for 15 years, the Washington Post reported.
His parents Linda and Alonzo Gamble said they enjoy spending time with their two children.
“He kept to himself and did his job,” Linda Gamble said. “He was the quiet one of the family.”
His mother said Gamble loved going to her 19-year-old’s football games and rooting for the Washington Commanders NFL team.
He posted on Facebook that he was having trouble saying goodbye.
“I miss my baby right now, life just isn’t the same without my baby,” she wrote.
Randy Blevins, 70, of Chesapeake
Chesapeake Police Department via Associated Press
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 2015 to 2018, spoke fondly of Blevins as “Mr. Randy.”
He said the store’s night staff was “family” and employees relied on each other.
Tyneka Johnson, 22, from Portsmouth
Chesapeake Police Department via Associated Press
A makeshift memorial to Johnson was placed in a grassy area outside the Walmart, with the words “Our hearts go out to you” and a basket of flowers.
The memorial included a cluster of blue, white and gold balloons tied to a tree, alongside a yellow line of police tape.
Kelleher contributed to this report from Honolulu.
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