CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Michelle Johnson told me her son, Brian Pendleton, was best known for his outbursts of joy.
“He loved to make people laugh,” Johnson said. “That was Brian.”
It’s been almost a year since she heard her son’s voice of joy.
“It’s quiet now,” she told me, staring off into the distance.
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The silence, punctuated by her prayers for peace and comfort, came days before Thanksgiving last year when a Walmart supervisor ended her son’s life, killed five others, and injured several more. It hasn’t stopped since then.
“I do not think so [my son] No wonder you go to work and end up getting killed,” Johnson said. “You can’t protect your kids all the time. That was my problem.”
At 38 years old, Pendleton had already overcome many obstacles.
He had a learning disability and endured several surgeries throughout his life to manage fluid buildup in his brain.
Still, for more than a decade, Pendleton has worked hard at his job as a janitor at the Sam’s Circle Walmart in Chesapeake’s Greenbrier community.
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His mother told me that he was widely known for always coming to work early.
I asked, “Why do you think he loves his job at Walmart so much?”
“We’ve become family,” Johnson said.
“He got along with everyone, but he started having problems with one manager,” she continued. “He said the coach always bullied him. It didn’t matter what he did.”
Johnson said she encouraged her son to report the actions of his boss, Andre Bing, to Walmart executives.
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A lawsuit filed against Walmart by Pendleton’s surviving co-workers says they accused the company of Bing’s “erratic, disturbing, violent and harassing behavior” in the months and years before the shooting. He said he filed a complaint.
They said he made “veiled threats that a shooting incident would occur.”
Still, Walmart chose to keep Bing employed at its stores.
On November 22, 2022, Bing opened fire in the break room where Pendleton had arrived early to do the job he loved.
“[Brian] “He was shot in the back of the head and the bullet exited the top of his head,” his mother said.
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“You couldn’t believe it?” I asked.
“I was,” she replied, wiping tears from her eyes. “That shouldn’t happen. Children shouldn’t be buried.”
I also asked him, “What went through your mind as you recalled your conversation with your son?” [about Bing]? ”
She answered: “I’m angry and I’m sorry.” [the shooter] at the same time. “
“What are you angry about? [the shooter has] “I’m sorry he didn’t make better choices and decisions. I’m sorry he took his life before repenting for what he did.”
Bing killed Pendleton, Randy Blevins, Lorenzo Gamble, Tineka Johnson, Kelly Pyle, and high school student Fernando Jesús Chavez Barron.
Johnson told me: “I was devastated for everyone who lost their lives that night, but for the father and mother who lost their young sons who worked there, all I could say and think at that time was, ‘At least I was 37 years old. ‘That was all I had to do with my son for many years. They didn’t even have a son until they were 17 years old. ”
Five months after the shooting, Walmart has reopened its stores.
While I was reporting there, I noticed that Ms. Johnson and her husband were silently observing the large celebration in the shadows of their grief. They weren’t ready to tell their stories at the time, but as the anniversary approached, they decided to share their thoughts on reopening the store with me.
“I won’t go back there knowing my son’s blood is on the floor over there,” she told me. “I’m not going to that store anymore.”
“I think it should have been demolished,” she continued.
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Johnson also said she was disappointed in the memorial Walmart created inside the store. There are benches and lights, but no names of the victims or specific references to the shooting.
It’s up to her to let the world know that her son is here and that his life matters.
“I will never forget my son. I will never forget my baby,” she said.
Johnson said her deep faith has kept her hopeful since her son’s death.
“I can’t just give up and give up. I don’t blame God because He is good. And I won’t be angry or bitter for the rest of my life,” she said. “I’m just angry, but I can’t fix it, so I just have to trust God.”