Renovated Virginia Walmart reopens after mass shooting
Trevor Metcalfe | The Virginian-Pilot
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — More than four months after six employees were killed in a shooting in the store’s break room, a renovated Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, reopened Wednesday at 10 a.m.
The renovated store includes a permanent outdoor memorial with six stone benches arranged in a seating area and a metal plaque in commemoration of the six workers who died in the shooting.
Store manager Alycia Mixon said she hoped the space would be used by employees, their families and the community to gather, reflect and honor the victims.
“We’re really grateful that we were able to do something in their memory,” Mixon said.
Shortly before reopening, Walmart officials and Chesapeake Mayor Rick West held a ceremony outside the store.
On Tuesday, a day before reopening, dozens of employees stocked shelves and wiped down the sliding glass entrance doors with cleaner. Near one of the main entrances, workers with The Graphics Shop in Chesapeake put the finishing touches on a large colorful mural. The work of local artist Charlie Frances features a great blue heron in flight over the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge.
Mixon, sporting a Walmart-branded hoodie, said it was great to be back with her co-workers at the Chesapeake location. Around 60% of employees from before the shooting chose to return, but a Walmart spokesperson noted several others transferred to other stores.
After the shooting, Mixon said her main priority was listening to her employees and making sure they had input into the store redesign process.
“Each day has been different, right?” Mixon said. “So, it is one of those times where we all have to be honest with each other. But the great thing about it is that here I’ve always embraced every associate and all their differences.”
Mixon said construction on the outside began in February and employees reentered the building in March.
She said the biggest challenge reopening was understanding that the shooting affected each employee differently — from those who knew the victims to the newer workers. So, she needed to make sure each of her roughly 300 employees had their needs met.
The revamped store includes a new layout with updated signs and several new shopping features. At several points around the store, interactive mock-ups of bedrooms, kitchens and other rooms reminiscent of an Ikea showroom give customers decorating ideas using Walmart products.
Other new additions include a large beverage and snack section at the front of the store, an expanded beer and wine selection in the grocery department, expanded checkout areas, digital screens throughout the store and more products from brands like Steve Madden and Free Assembly.
Six Walmart employees were killed Nov. 22 when a manager opened fire in the break room during a night shift meeting. After the shooting, the community held vigils for the victims and memorials were set up in the store parking lot.
The store was closed for months while company leaders redesigned the interior and exterior. While closed, Walmart paid for the wages of affected employees and funeral, travel and other expenses for the families of the victims.
Following the shooting, three employees filed lawsuits against Walmart. Each suit alleges that Walmart had known about troubling behavior from shooter Andre Bing before the shooting and did not act. Bing also died in the shooting.
In December, Walmart lawyers, seeking to dismiss the cases, said Virginia law prevents employees from seeking personal injury claims when harmed on the job by another employee and instead must submit a workers’ compensation complaint.
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