4th Victim In VA Walmart Shooting Sues Company For $25M

CHESAPEAKE, VA — Another former employee at Virginia Walmart where a man opened fire and killed six people last year has filed a lawsuit against the retail giant, claiming the store's management ignored complaints that the shooter was dangerous, according to a report.

Sarah Merlo was shot seven times while hiding behind a table in the Chesapeake Walmart break room when Andre Bing burst into the break room and opened fire, according to a complaint obtained by the Daily Press and filed this month in Chesapeake Circuit Court.

"Please, Andre — No!” she shouted, according to the report, but Bing smiled and pulled the trigger, hitting her in the face and continuing to fire after she survived the first shot.

Merlo is the fourth employee to file a lawsuit against Walmart since the Nov. 22 shooting where 31-year-old Bing gunned down several Walmart employees and injured six others before killing himself. Bing was an overnight team leader who had been a Walmart employee since 2010.

Previous lawsuits against Walmart claimed the company was negligent in hiring and continuing to employ Bing. The lawsuits describe accounts of Bing's "pattern of disturbing behavior" leading up to the shooting.

In one lawsuit, Donya Prioleau sued Walmart for $50 million in compensatory damages after claiming the company continued to employ Bing despite his behavior. James Kelly, an overnight employee at the Chesapeake Walmart, also filed a $50 million suit against the company, according to Virginia Public Media.

A third lawsuit filed by Briana Tyler claims she narrowly missed being shot when Bing entered the break room and opened fire, The Virginian-Pilot reported. According to the lawsuit, Tyler ran out of the room and Bing chased her, firing his gun as he pursued her.

Tyler is also seeking $50 million in damages.

In Merlo's suit, she claimed she was targeted by Bing and the shooting was a culmination of years of harassment and working in a toxic environment under Bing’s authority, the Daily Press reported.

“Before shooting Sarah, Bing specifically recognized another individual who he told to leave the area so that she would not be shot or injured,” the complaint obtained by the Daily Press states. “By allowing this individual to escape unharmed, Bing demonstrated that his attack and attempt to kill Sarah was due to personal animus he held against her rather than being based on a condition inherent to Sarah’s employment.”

“His decisions on who to shoot were motivated, at least in part, by his personal animus toward that individual fueled by his longstanding paranoia and delusions.”

Merlo is seeking $25 million in damages, the report said.

Following the filing of the three previous lawsuits, Walmart asked a Virginia judge to dismiss the cases, arguing that Virginia law prevents workers from seeking personal injury claims when injured by a fellow employee on the job. The law instead requires employees to file a workers compensation claim.