by Evie Fordham
At least 13 people are dead after a Virginia Beach city employee opened fire on coworkers in a municipal building Friday around 4 p.m., authorities said.
Four others were injured and taken to the hospital, reported The Virginian-Pilot. The suspected gunman, a longtime city worker identified as 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock, died when officers responded with gunfire and is counted among the 13 dead.
The suspect was a public utilities department worker who was allegedly armed with a .45-caliber handgun with a sound suppressor, Virginia Beach Police Department Chief James Cervera said, according to The Virginian-Pilot.
“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach,” Mayor Robert M. Dyer said at a press conference. “The people involved are our friends, coworkers, neighbor, colleagues.”
The names of the victims have not been released.
The shooting occurred on multiple floors of Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, reported CNN. The building is the site of planning and public works offices near City Hall. The police department is nearby. One victim was shot in a vehicle outside the building, and the rest of the victims were shot inside.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam responded to the incident.
“This is a tragic day for Virginia Beach and our entire Commonwealth. My heart breaks for the victims of this devastating shooting, their families, and all who loved them. I am on my way to Virginia Beach now and will be there within the hour,” he wrote on Twitter Friday evening.
This is a tragic day for Virginia Beach and our entire Commonwealth. My heart breaks for the victims of this devastating shooting, their families, and all who loved them. I am on my way to Virginia Beach now and will be there within the hour.
— Governor Ralph Northam (@VAGovernor73) May 31, 2019
FBI and state police are helping Virginia Beach police investigate. Virginia Beach has not experienced a shooting like this since a 1994 restaurant shooting that claimed four lives, reported The Virginian-Pilot.
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Evie Fordham is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Evie on Twitter.
Photo “Virginia Beach Municipal Center” by Rlevse. CC BY-SA 3.0.
