Virginia Walmart employee Blake Williams expected to die from wounds

A Walmart employee who was shot dead during the Virginia massacre was clinging to life in hospital, a relative revealed on Wednesday.

Blake Williams, 23, has been put on a ventilator but his family is expected to go off life support, his cousin, 24-year-old Shannon Cheetham, told The Post.

Williams, who takes night classes at Tidewater Community College, usually works the day shift.

However, on the night of the shooting, he swapped shifts with another colleague, Cheetham said.

“He never made it home. He shouldn’t even be here. Wrong place, wrong time,” she said.

Williams was studying to get his commercial driver’s license.

Cheetham said her aunt, who has been heartbroken since the murder, told her about the attack.

“I was at work and my aunt called me and I picked up the phone and her voice cracked and she just yelled. I knew right away,” she said.

“I couldn’t move for a good 30 minutes.”

She remembered her cousin as an accomplished bassist.

“He was fun. He had a smile that lit up the room,” Cheetham said.

“He was outgoing. He was very humble for someone who was very busy. He was down to earth but extremely smart,” she said.

“Thanksgiving is one of those holidays when you’re with your family and you’re talking about life,” she continued. “Tomorrow will not be the same for many people.”

The shooter, night manager Andre Bing, opened fire on his staff just before 10:15 p.m. Tuesday night.

Three of the victims, including Bing, were found dead in the store’s break room, while one deceased victim was found outside the store, police officers said. Police confirmed that Bing died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Three other victims were taken to local hospitals for further treatment but succumbed to their injuries, police said.

Investigators have not yet identified a motive for the killing spree. However, colleagues have described Bing as “hostile” and difficult to use.

Cheetham told the Post that Bing grew up in the Crestwood area of ​​Chesapeake. She said she would see him growing up and later in the store.

“I saw him at Walmart a lot at night. He was nice, he waved,” she said of the shooter.

“You never thought someone like that would do something so extreme. Blake never spoke badly of the job or Andre.”

Police searched Bing’s home on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the Chesapeake Police Department identified the fatal victims as 38-year-old Chesapeake resident Brian Pendleton; 52-year-old Kellie Pyle of Chesapeake; 43-year-old Lorenzo Gamble of Chesapeake; 70-year-old Randy Belvins of Chesapeake; 22-year-old Tyneka Johnson from Portsmouth; and a 16-year-old boy from Chesapeake – whose name is being withheld due to his age, WAVY reported.

Cheetham said she also knows Gamble, whom she met at Walmart and said everyone called him “Renzo.”

The two shared a mutual friend and had been out drinking with a few friends at local watering hole The Southern Flair Pub House.

“He went on the dance floor and we had a lot of fun,” she said. “That was a good night for everyone.”