Walmart set to reopen the Virginia store where six employees were shot and killed five months ago. It will include a memorial in their honor.

• Walmart plans to reopen a store on April 19 after a mass shooting took place there in November 2022.
• A gunman identified as a team lead at the store opened fire, killing six of his co-workers and injuring several more.

Roughly five months after a gunman, identified as a Walmart employee, opened fire, killing six co-workers at a store in Chesapeake, Virginia, the retail giant is set to reopen the store with a redesign — including a memorial to honor the six victims and comfort survivors.

That store has been closed since November 23, 2022, when police say Andre Bing, a team lead, carried out the mass shooting before taking his own life. It will reopen on April 19, Walmart announced this week. Per the company, the store "underwent significant design changes."

One of those changes is the memorial space, which will include foliage and six seating structures in honor of the six victims, "providing a peaceful place for people to pause and remember the permanent impact these associates made on our lives," according to Walmart.

"We are deeply touched by the community's compassion and support as we continue to heal from last year's tragedy," Alycia Mixon, the Walmart Chesapeake store manager, said in a press release. "As we move forward with our reopening, we do so in a way that honors the victims and provides continued support to our associates."

The store has also been remodeled to be a "store of the future," which includes displays, interactive elements, and a cleaner look. Walmart first unveiled this type of store in Springdale, Arkansas, in January 2022 and has since expanded the prototype to a small number of stores nationwide.

The store reopening comes as Walmart continues to wrestle with the shooting's aftermath. Several shooting survivors and at least one of the victim's families have sued the company for millions of dollars, accusing the company of ignoring reports from co-workers of "disturbing and threatening behavior" of the shooter.

Are you a Walmart employee who works at the store in Chesapeake, Virginia? Contact reporter Ben Tobin on email at btobin@insider.com or over encrypted messaging app Signal at +1 703-498-9171.