Editor's Note: This story contains descriptions some readers may find disturbing. Reader discretion is advised.
A Chesapeake resident and former Walmart employee is suing the Superstore corporation for its alleged negligence that led to her being shot while working a year ago.
On Nov. 22 around 10 p.m., team leader Andre Bing pulled out a handgun and started shooting inside the breakroom of the Chesapeake Walmart. Six people were killed and six others were injured.
Police say Bing turned the gun on himself after the shooting.
Among those injured was Sarah Merlo, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states Merlo was shot in the face and then six more times.
In the lawsuit, Merlo alleges that Bing targeted people he had a vendetta against. She says she had made numerous complaints about Bing's behavior at the store.
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Court documents say that in the weeks leading up to the shooting, Walmart received numerous complaints about Bing's "erratic, disturbing, violent and harassing behavior" towards other employees.
Merlo says in the lawsuit that Bing would harass her by telling her how he liked to kill animals, telling her how dead animal carcasses smell and intentionally subjecting her to difficult tasks under a tight deadline knowing they could not be completed, and then criticizing and punishing her for not following through on his orders.
The lawsuit states that Bing would harass her because of personal dislike or hatred, and he disliked other employs and had "generalized grievances about his life and his treatment by others."
Bing was paranoid and delusional, according to court documents. He believed he was the victim of conspiracies, thought someone or something was hacking his phone and suffering from religious ideations.
The manifestation of Bing's paranoia was hostile, aggressive and threatening behavior toward others at work and the world in general, according to court documents. The lawsuit states he made "veiled threats of active shooter situations to other Walmart employees."
Walmart employees repeatedly told store management about Bing's continual abusive behavior, according to the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Merlo says she specifically told supervisors about Bing's abusive conduct and sadistic, violent comments, and when she brought her complaints to the store manager, they failed to take action.
The lawsuit alleges that Walmart's response to the complaints was "utterly dismissive of their concerns and completely supportive of Bing's abusive conduct."
Court documents say that Walmart knew about Bing's threatening nature and conduct for more than two years before the shooting.
The lawsuit goes on to say that while Walmart had investigated Bing in the past, they did nothing at the time and failed to respond to new complaints of his instability and violent tendencies.
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In the lawsuit, Merlo says the night of the shooting, Bing found her hiding beneath a table on her hands and knees and pointed the gun against her head. The lawsuit says that she begged him not to, but Bing smiled, pulled the trigger, and shot her in the face.
Merlo survived the first shot and began crawling to safety, according to court documents. Bing shot her six more times—once in the neck, twice in the chest, once in her right elbow, and twice in the stomach, according to the lawsuit.
Merlo believes Bing shot her because of his personal vendetta against her, as he allowed other people to escape unharmed, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that Bing's attack against her was not because she was an employee of Walmart, rather it was personal to her.
Court documents also say that "Bing's rampage was overall random and indiscriminate," and the risk of being shot was shared by any person in the Walmart store and in the surrounding neighborhood.
The lawsuit says that as a result of being shot by Bing, Merlo underwent multiple surgeries and faces a lifetime of medical care from the physical injuries and emotional distress.
She has suffered immensely as a result of the shooting and has life altering physical and mental injuries, she says in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states that Merlo is suing the administrator of Bing's estate, Philip Armstrong II, Walmart Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores East, L.P for one count of battery, one count of willful and wanton negligence and one count of negligent retention for $20 million in compensatory damages and $350,00 in punitive damages.
News 3 reached out to Merlo's attorney regarding their lawsuit. Her attorney said they have no comment and did not want to speak with us on camera Wednesday.
"It’s highly detailed," legal and political analyst Dr. Eric Claville told News 3. "Now, it’s up to the court. It’s up to the finders of fact and also evidence that will be put forth to determine any liability, if Walmart has it, and negligence."
Dr. Claville said one big takeaway from this lawsuit is what's stated that led up to the shooting.
"A lot of times, we know of lawsuits that are filed. A lot of times, we see events that take place, but we don’t know exactly what happened leading up to it," Claville said.
News 3 also reached out to Walmart about the lawsuit.
In a statement, a company spokesperson said, "The entire Walmart family remains heartbroken by everyone impacted. We continue to wish Ms. Merlo well in her recovery. We are reviewing the Complaint and will be responding as appropriate with the court."
