An employee who survived the mass shooting at a Chesapeake, Virginia, Walmart claims she submitted a complaint about her manager, Andre Bing, months before he allegedly killed six staff members and himself.
Donya Prioleau, who is suing the company for $50 million in damages, alleges the location was negligent in hiring and continuing to employ Bing, despite him having a “mean” and “cruel” reputation as a supervisor to “watch out for.”
According to her lawsuit, Bing kept a “kill list” of potential targets and held personal vendettas against staff. Former employees said that Bing would repeatedly ask them if they had received their active shooter training, then smile and walk away, the lawsuit says.
In one instance prior to the shooting, Bing allegedly told his coworkers that he ran over a turtle with a lawnmower “just to see its guts spray out,” which he said made him hungry and reminded him of ramen noodles.
On another occasion, Bing told coworkers that if he was ever fired he would “retaliate” and that people would remember his name, the lawsuit states.
But despite complaints, supervisors allegedly said that nothing could be done as Bing was well-liked by management.
Prioleau’s lawsuit claims that Walmart and its managers were well aware of Bing’s violent and threatening propensities, repeatedly disciplining him for bad behavior and harassment ahead of the shooting while not enacting any “preventative measures” to keep Walmart shoppers and employees safe, “making his violent outburst predictable.”
According to the suit, Walmart was within its rights to terminate Bing’s employment at any time, restrict his access to the break room, or conduct a mental health or background check on the manager, but failed to take any such action.
“I just watched 3 of my coworkers/friends be killed in front of me,” Prioleau wrote on Facebook days after the Nov. 22 shooting. “Andre killed them in cold blood … I cannot unsee what happened in that break room.”
Prioleau is seeking damages for injuries to her arm and knees, as well as severe anxiety, flashbacks, and nightmares caused as a result of Bing’s actions.
