Twelve dead, gunman killed in Virginia Beach shooting

Twelve people were killed and four were injured in a shooting Friday afternoon at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. The suspected gunman was also killed.

Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera said the shooter was a “longtime employee of public utilities” and at about 4 p.m. “began to indiscriminately fire upon all the victims” using a .45-caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines and a suppressor.

The suspect, identified Saturday as DeWayne Craddock, 40, a public utilities engineer, was killed after what was described as a “long-term gun battle” with four police officers. He is not included in the 12 victims Cervera reported dead.{mosads}

Officials identified the shooting victims on Saturday morning, saying all but one of them were city employees, with the other being a contractor.

One of the people injured was a Virginia Beach police officer, who officials said was saved by his vest.

Officials have not offered a motive in the shooting, though reports have emerged that described Craddock as a disgruntled employee.

“While the scene is secure, we have a long-term investigative process that is being undertaken right now,” Cervera told reporters Friday evening. “There’s a lot of work to be done.”

“We have more questions than we have answers,” he added. “None of us want to be here talking about this devastating incident that is going to change the lives of a number of families in our city.”

The attack occurred in a single building in the 30-building complex.

Chopper 10 Video: People were rushed out of the building. We still don’t know how many victims there are, but the FBI confirmed they are assisting in this investigation. https://t.co/VYth6Wr64z #VBActiveShooter pic.twitter.com/D9CbniqNVq

— WAVY TV 10 (@WAVY_News) May 31, 2019

Northam was in Virginia Beach and offered the full resources of the commonwealth to deal with the shooting’s aftermath.

“This is a horrific day for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Our hearts ache over the senseless violence that has been inflicted on the Virginia Beach community today,” he told reporters Friday night.

– Updated: June 1 at 11 a.m.