Police work the scene where eleven people were killed during a mass shooting at the Virginia Beach city public works building, Friday, May 31, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A longtime, disgruntled city employee opened fire at a municipal building in Virginia Beach on Friday, killing 11 people before police fatally shot him, authorities said. Six other people were wounded in the shooting, including a police officer whose bulletproof vest saved his life, said Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera. (Photo by L. TODD SPENCER / The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Updated @ 5:33 p.m., June 1, 2019, to add more details, upgrade death toll
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia 鈥� A longtime city employee opened fire in a municipal building in Virginia Beach, killing 12 people on three floors and sending terrified co-workers scrambling for cover before police shot and killed him following a 鈥渓ong gunbattle,鈥� authorities said.
Four other people were wounded in Friday鈥檚 shooting, including a police officer whose bulletproof vest saved his life, said Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera. The city鈥檚 visibly shaken mayor, Bobby Dyer, called it 鈥渢he most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.鈥�
The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. when the veteran employee of the Public Utilities Department entered a building in the city鈥檚 Municipal Center, and 鈥渋mmediately began to indiscriminately fire upon all of the victims,鈥� Cervera said. Authorities did not release the suspect鈥檚 name, instead choosing to focus on the victims during a news conference.
Police entered the building and got out as many employees as they could, then exchanged fire with the suspect, who was armed with a .45-caliber handgun, the chief said. 鈥淚t was a long gunbattle between those four officers and the suspect,鈥� he said. He said officers gave the suspect first aid after he was shot, but he died.
Police initially said the gunman shot and killed 11 people, including one who was found inside a vehicle outside the municipal building. Cervera later said one more died on the way to the hospital.
The shooting sent shock waves through Virginia Beach, the state鈥檚 largest city and a popular vacation spot in southeastern Virginia. The building where the attack took place is in a suburban complex miles away from the high-rise hotels along the beach and the downtown business area.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement he was devastated by the 鈥渦nspeakable, senseless violence,鈥� and is offering the state鈥檚 full support to survivors and relatives of the victims.
鈥淭hat they should be taken in this manner is the worst kind of tragedy,鈥� the governor said during the news conference.
The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed and was monitoring the situation.
Megan Banton, an administrative assistant who works in the building where the shooting happened, said she heard gunshots, called 911 and barricaded herself and about 20 colleagues inside an office, pushing a desk against a door.
鈥淲e tried to do everything we could to keep everybody safe,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e were all just terrified. It felt like it wasn鈥檛 real, like we were in a dream. You are just terrified because all you can hear is the gunshots.鈥�
She texted her mom, telling her that there was an active shooter in the building and she and others were waiting for police.
鈥淭hank God my baby is OK,鈥� Banton鈥檚 mother, Dana Showers, said.
At a nearby middle school, friends and relatives were reuniting with loved ones who were in the building when the shooting happened. They included Paul Swain, 50, who said he saw his fiancee from across the parking lot, clearly in an agitated state.
鈥淚 think she knew some of the people,鈥� he said.
Outside the school, Cheryl Benn, 65, waited while her husband, David, a traffic engineer with the city who was in the building where the shooting happened, gave a written statement to detectives.
She said her husband initially called her from a barricaded room and said it sounded as if someone had been working with a nail gun. Then he saw the bodies.
鈥淭his is unbelievable for Virginia Beach,鈥� Cheryl Benn said. 鈥淏y and large, it鈥檚 a pretty calm and peaceful place to live.鈥�
/muf /atm