A Walmart employee who survived last week’s mass shooting at a Virginia store has filed a $50 million lawsuit against the company for allegedly continuing to employ the shooter — a store supervisor “who had known propensities for violence, threats, and strange behavior.”
Donya Prioleau filed the lawsuit, which appears to be the first related to the shooting, in Chesapeake Circuit Court on Tuesday. Walmart, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, issued a statement saying it was reviewing the complaint and would respond “as appropriate with the court.”
“The entire Walmart family is heartbroken by the loss of our valued team members,” the company stated. “Our hearts go out to our colleagues and everyone affected, including those who were injured.” We are committed to providing significant resources, including counseling, to all of our associates.”
According to Prioleau’s lawsuit, she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as physical and emotional distress, after witnessing the rampage in the store’s breakroom on Nov. 22. Her lawsuit provides new details about the terrifying attack as well as a long list of troubling signs displayed by the shooter that she claims managers ignored.
According to the lawsuit, “bullets whizzed by Plaintiff Donya Prioleau’s face and left side, barely missing her.” “She witnessed the brutal murder of several of her coworkers on either side of her.”
According to the lawsuit, “Ms. Prioleau looked one of her coworkers in the eyes right after she was shot in the neck.” Ms. Prioleau witnessed the bullet wound in her coworker’s neck, the blood rushing out of it, and her coworker’s helpless expression.”
According to police, store supervisor Andre Bing, 31, fatally shot six employees and injured several others before dying of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot. Bing “had a personal vendetta against several Walmart employees and kept a ‘kill list’ of potential targets prior to the shooting,” according to the lawsuit.
The list is in reference to a “death note” discovered on Bing’s phone and released by authorities on Friday. Authorities redacted the names of people he worked with who appeared to be mentioned in the note.
Bing was a team leader at Walmart who had been with the company since 2010. According to the lawsuit, he was in charge of managing the overnight stocking crew, which included Prioleau, who began her job in May 2021. The lawsuit claims that management was aware of, or should have been aware of, Bing’s disturbing behavior and lists several instances of concerning behavior.
According to the lawsuit, “prior to the shooting, Mr. Bing repeatedly asked coworkers if they had received their active shooter training.” “When coworkers said they had, Mr. Bing simply smiled and walked away without saying anything.”
According to the suit, Bing “made comments to other Walmart employees and managers suggesting that he would be violent if fired or disciplined,” and he “was disciplined leading up to the shooting, making his violent outburst predictable.”
Bing also told coworkers that “he ran over a turtle with a lawnmower just to see its (guts) spray out, which made him hungry and reminded him of ramen noodles,” according to the lawsuit. Bing had previously been disciplined for bad behavior and harassing employees, but the suit claims that Walmart “kept employing him anyway.”
Prioleau claims in her court filing that she and her mother attempted to sue Bing. Prioleau filed a formal complaint on a Walmart Global Ethics Statement Form, claiming that Bing “bizarrely and inappropriately commented on Ms. Prioleau’s age.” According to the lawsuit, Bing told her, “Isn’t your lady clock ticking? Shouldn’t you have children?”
According to the lawsuit, Prioleau also claimed that Bing had harassed her because she was “poor and short.” According to the lawsuit, she also informed Walmart that Bing had called her a “bitch” under his breath.
According to the lawsuit, Prioleau’s mother expressed concerns about her daughter’s safety to a Walmart manager in September “because it appeared their concerns were falling on deaf ears.” According to the suit, the manager stated that “there was nothing that could be done about Mr. Bing because he was liked by management.”
According to the suit, Bing told coworkers before the shooting that “the government was watching him.” “He taped his phone camera with black tape so no one could spy on him.” Bing claimed in the note left on his phone that he was harassed and that the perception that his phone had been hacked drove him to suicide. The note also accused his coworkers of mocking him.
Bing’s death note rambles through 11 paragraphs at times, with references to alternative cancer treatments and songwriting. He claims that he has been unfairly compared to serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Last week, Jessica Wilczewski, a Walmart employee who witnessed the shooting, told The Associated Press that Bing appeared to target specific people.
“He was acting like he was going hunting,” she said. Walmart president and CEO John Furner wrote to employees on Tuesday that the victims were “amazing, irreplaceable members of our family.”
“The Walmart Foundation also plans to donate $1 million to the United Way of South Hampton Roads’ Hope & Healing Fund, which will benefit those affected by the shooting as well as the broader Chesapeake community,” Furner wrote.
