International
Walmart employee kills six in US mass shooting
| By AFP | Michael Mathes |
A Walmart employee shot dead six people at a store bustling with Thanksgiving holiday shoppers, before turning the pistol on himself, police said Wednesday, in America’s second mass shooting in four days.
Four other people remained hospitalized in unknown condition following the Tuesday night rampage in Chesapeake, Virginia, police chief Mark Solesky said.
Solesky told a news conference the gunman was believed to have died of a “self-inflicted gunshot wound,” and that the motive behind the country’s latest deadly outburst of gun violence was not immediately known.
President Joe Biden condemned “yet another horrific and senseless” attack, mourning the fact “there are now even more tables across the country that will have empty seats this Thanksgiving.”
He added: “There are now more families who know the worst kind of loss and pain imaginable.”
The assault two days before the quintessential American family holiday, marked this year on November 24, followed a weekend gun attack at an LGBTQ club in Colorado that killed five people.
It was also the second mass shooting in the state of Virginia this month: three students at the University of Virginia who played on its football team were killed November 13 by a classmate after a field trip.
Emergency calls were first made just after 10:00 pm Tuesday (0300 GMT Wednesday) while the store was still open.
Officers arrived in a matter of two minutes and entered the Walmart two minutes later, Solesky said.
US media reported that the gunman opened fire in a room where employees take meal breaks but the police chief said he could not confirm this.
In the hours afterwards, news footage showed a major police presence around the Walmart, which is located about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of the US capital Washington.
‘Senseless violence’
Gun attacks in grocery stores in America have become increasingly common in recent years. A teenage gunman killed 10 people, most of them Black, at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York in May.
Last year a shooting at a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado also left 10 dead. And in a particularly gruesome attack in 2019, a young gunman killed 23 and wounded 26 as he stalked shoppers at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas.
An advocacy group called Guns Down America has reported that from January 1, 2020 to May 14 of this year there were 448 “gun incidents” and 137 deaths at 12 large national retailers.
In Chesapeake, local resident Edna Dunham told CBS news after the shooting, “That could have been me.”
“It could’ve been any of us because we go there so much. It could’ve been any of us,” Dunham said.
Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, issued a statement early Wednesday saying: “We are shocked at this tragic event.”
The company added that it was “praying for those impacted, the community and our associates. We’re working closely with law enforcement, and we are focused on supporting our associates.”
Virginia state Senator Louise Lucas, who represents the Chesapeake region, said she was “heartbroken that America’s latest mass shooting took place… in my district.”
“I will not rest until we find the solutions to end this gun violence epidemic in our country that has taken so many lives,” she wrote on Twitter.
Congressman Bobby Scott of Virginia tweeted: “Tragically, our community is suffering from yet another incident of senseless gun violence just as families are gathering for Thanksgiving.”
The incident occurred three nights after a gunman opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, killing five people and injuring at least 18, in what is being investigated as a possible hate crime.
Authorities said that suspect, identified as 22-year-old Anderson Lee Aldrich, had used a long rifle at the club, where partygoers were marking the Transgender Day of Remembrance, which pays tribute to trans people targeted in violent attacks.
So far in 2022, the Gun Violence Archive website has tracked more than 600 mass shootings in the United States — defined as an incident with four or more people shot or killed, not including the shooter.
International
At least 10 dead and 20 injured in highway crash near Morelia
The accident occurred on the highway connecting Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, with the town of Pátzcuaro, the Morelia police reported in a statement.
“Preliminary information indicates there are around 10 fatalities and nearly 20 people injured. Emergency teams are carrying out extraction efforts and providing medical assistance at the scene,” the department said. It added that traffic on the roadway remains closed while rescue crews continue their work.
So far, authorities have not specified the cause of the crash.
Road accidents are common in Mexico, often caused by excessive speed or poor vehicle maintenance, particularly involving buses or cargo trucks.
In September, a truck carrying nearly 50,000 liters of gas exploded at an intersection in Mexico City, resulting in 32 deaths.
International
Democrats press prince Andrew for testimony as Epstein probe intensifies
Sixteen Democratic lawmakers have signed a letter urging Prince Andrew to participate in a “transcribed interview” with the U.S. House Oversight Committee, which is investigating the Epstein case. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while jailed and awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
The letter asked Andrew — the younger brother of King Charles III and now referred to as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after being stripped of his royal titles due to his association with Epstein — to respond by November 20.
“Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s silence in response to the Oversight Committee Democrats’ request for testimony speaks volumes,” said Representatives Robert Garcia and Suhas Subramanyan, both members of the committee, in a statement released on Friday.
“The documents we have reviewed, along with public records and the testimony of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, raise serious questions he must answer, yet he continues to hide.”
Giuffre, a U.S.-Australian citizen who died by suicide in April, wrote in posthumous memoirs that she had been forced into sexual encounters with Andrew on three occasions — the first two when she was 17.
International
President Sheinbaum Hails Fátima Bosch’s Miss Universe Win as a Victory for Women’s Voices
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum praised Fátima Bosch on Friday for winning the Miss Universe 2025 title, recognizing her as a symbol of courage for Mexican women and highlighting her stance against an act of injustice during the international pageant.
Bosch, a native of Tabasco, claimed the crown at the competition held in Thailand. Her participation drew significant attention following an incident involving the director of Miss Universe Thailand, Nawat Itsaragrisil, who told her to remain silent for not sharing event-related content on her social media platforms. The remark prompted Bosch to walk out of the room in protest, an action supported by several other contestants.
President Sheinbaum denounced expressions like “you look prettier when you’re quiet,” asserting: “Women look more beautiful when we speak up and participate. And she raised her voice, saying, ‘This is unjust, I don’t agree.’”
Fátima Bosch, 25, became the fourth Mexican woman to win the Miss Universe crown, joining Lupita Jones (1991), Ximena Navarrete (2010), and Andrea Meza (2020).
Bosch triumphed over Thailand’s Veena Praveenar, who placed as first runner-up, and Venezuela’s Stephany Abasaly, who took third place. This year’s pageant featured contestants from 120 countries and territories, including nine mothers, one transgender woman, a genocide survivor, and the first-ever Palestinian contestant in the competition’s history.
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