CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) is a caregiver and father of two. A mother with plans for a wedding. A funny guy. A 16-year-old boy helps his family.
That’s how friends and family described some of the six people killed at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Va., when a manager opened fire just 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.
Family and friends, dressed in white, remembered the teenager at a Walmart parking lot vigil Thursday night. His friends told The Virginian-Pilot it’s hard to believe he’s gone.
Family friend Rosie Perez told The New York Times that the teenager attended a local high school while working nights to help support his family.
“He wanted to help out a little bit,” Perez said. “He was a very good kid.”
Here are some details about those who died:
- Kelly Pyle, 52, of Chesapeake
Pyle was remembered as a generous and kind person, a mother who had plans for a wedding in the near future.
“We love her,” said Gwendolyn Bowe Baker Spencer. “She was going to marry my son next year. She was a wonderful, kind person – yes, she was.”
In Kentucky, Pyle had grown children who will travel to Virginia after the tragedy, Spencer said.
Pyle returned to her native Norfolk in May after rekindling her relationship with her high school sweetheart and recently took a job at Walmart, her cousin Billy Pillar-Gibson told the Washington Post. He remembered Pyle’s sarcastic sense of humor and called her his best friend.
“We grew up in a crazy family, and we understood each other,” he said. “I don’t remember life without her.”
- Brian Pendleton, 38, of Chesapeake
Pendleton was punctual. Although his shift as a security guard began at 10:30 p.m., he was in the break room when the shooting began just after 10, according to his mother, Michelle Johnson.
“He always came to work early to make it to work,” she told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “He liked his colleagues.”
Pendleton recently celebrated his 10th anniversary at the store.
His mother said he had no problems at work, except for his supervisor, Andre Bing, who was identified as the gunman.
“He just didn’t like my son,” Johnson said. “He was telling me he (Bing) was going to 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 going to work,” Johnson said. “I always tell him to call me when he gets off work.”
As she was about to go to bed, Johnson got a call from a family friend saying there had been a shooting at Walmart.
“Brian was a happy guy. Brian loved his family. Brian loved his friends. He liked to tell jokes,” said his mother. “We will miss him.”
- Lorenzo Gamble, 43, of Chesapeake
Gamble was a night shift custodian and had worked at Walmart for 15 years, according to The Washington Post.
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 in the family.”
His mother said Gamble loved going to his 19-year-old’s football games and rooting for the NFL’s Washington Commanders.
She wrote on Facebook that it was hard for her to say goodbye.
“I miss my baby right now, life is not the same without my son,” she wrote.
- Randy Blevins, 70, of Chesapeake
Blevins was a Norfolk Admirals hockey fan and enjoyed photography and coin collecting, daughter Cassandra Yates told The New York Times.
“He never missed a day of work,” she said. “He loved his family and supported everyone.”
Blevins was a longtime member of the store’s pricing and merchandising team. Former co-worker Shaundraya Reese, who worked at the store from about 2015 to 2018, fondly referred to Blevins as “Mr. Randy.”
She said the night team at the store was a “family” and that employees relied on each other.
- Tyneka Johnson, 22, of Portsmouth
Theodore Johnson, 41, told The New York Times that his cousin lived with his mother.
“She was young and wanted to earn her money,” he said.
When Johnson was a student at Western Branch High School, Kasheba Cannon tutored a student with dreams of college and a supportive family, Cannon told The Washington Post.
“Education was at the forefront. Her family did everything they could to make sure she got help,” Cannon said.
Johnson was willing to work to improve herself, but she was also cheerful, helping younger students and “talking” to everyone she met at Cannon’s Blessed Tutoring Services, she said. Johnson had a sense of style and a love of music and dancing.
“She was that child. When she came into tutoring, she was very well put together,” Cannon said. “Tineka was a light in a dark room.”
A makeshift memorial for Johnson was placed in a grassy area outside Walmart with the words “Our hearts are with you” and a basket of flowers.
The memorial included a group of blue, white and gold balloons tied to a tree, next to a bright yellow line of police tape.
