This combination of photos provided by the City of Virginia Beach on Saturday, June 1, 2019 shows victims of Friday鈥檚 shooting at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Top row from left are Laquita C. Brown, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher and Mary Louise Gayle. Middle row from left are Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Joshua O. Hardy, Michelle 鈥淢issy鈥� Langer and Richard H. Nettleton. Bottom row from left are Katherine A. Nixon, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Herbert 鈥淏ert鈥� Snelling and Robert 鈥淏obby鈥� Williams. (Photos courtesy of City of Virginia Beach via AP)
VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia 鈥� The victims of America鈥檚 latest mass shooting had been dead for less than a day when police and city officials released a detailed presentation with their names, photos, job titles and the cities or towns in which they lived.
In all, 12 people 鈥� 11 of them city employees 鈥� were killed by the shooter who opened fire inside a municipal building.
Far less was revealed Saturday about the man who authorities say carried out the shootings. There was no photo. And authorities promised to utter his name only once: 鈥淒eWayne Craddock,鈥� a 40-year-old engineer who worked in the city鈥檚 utilities department.
鈥淲e wanted to control that narrative,鈥� Steve Cover, Virginia Beach鈥檚 deputy city manager of public safety, said of the news conference officials held the day after Friday鈥檚 shooting. 鈥淲e didn鈥檛 want it to leak out piece by piece through family and friends and so forth through the media. We felt it was kind of our obligation to get that message out.鈥�
This sprawling city on Virginia鈥檚 coast is employing an increasingly common public information strategy: Release more details about the victims of mass shootings than of the killers 鈥� at least initially 鈥� to limit the criminals鈥� exposure and prevent copycat shootings.
A similar tack was taken in March after a mass shooting in New Zealand. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern promised to deny a platform for the white supremacist who authorities said gunned down 50 people at two mosques.
鈥淭he goal is to kind of interrupt the cycle of new mass shooters citing previous ones, and the new mass shooters who are becoming role models for even more attackers,鈥� said Adam Lankford, a criminologist at the University of Alabama.
Lankford has studied the influence of publicity on future shooters and has urged the news media to not name or release photos of the perpetrators.
鈥淲hat the guy鈥檚 face looks like is not the sort of information that will help stop the next mass shooting,鈥� he said.
But James Alan Fox, a professor at Northeastern University who has studied mass shootings, said it鈥檚 appropriate for law enforcement officials to release basic facts.
鈥淚t is news,鈥� Fox said. 鈥淲e provide basic details on other types of offenders.鈥�
It is the 鈥渁ct 鈥� not the actor鈥� that influences others, he said. 鈥淭he Columbine massacre, for example, inspired copycats, not the assailants鈥� names and faces.鈥�
But there is a limit to how much should be reported, Fox said. Too much about a killer鈥檚 background can 鈥渉umanize鈥� him or her and cross the line from news reporting to 鈥渃elebrity watch.鈥�
Virginia Beach officials said more information about Friday鈥檚 shooting will come out.
鈥淎nd we will share our lessons learned,鈥� said Cover, the deputy city manager.
But first, officials want everyone to know the profound loss the city has suffered: four engineers who worked to maintain streets and protect wetlands; three right-of-way agents who reviewed property lines; an account clerk, a technician, an administrative assistant and a special projects coordinator. In all, they had served the city of Virginia Beach for more than 150 years. The 12th victim was a contractor who was in the building to seek a permit.
鈥淭hey leave a void that we will never be able to fill,鈥� said City Manager Dave Hansen, who had worked for years with many of the slain
Sandra McDonald, 54, an event planner and nanny who lives in Virginia Beach, said she supports the city鈥檚 strong focus on the victims.
鈥淚 think sometimes these people think going out in a blaze of glory is the way they are going to have their moment of fame,鈥� McDonald said, referring to the mass shooters. 鈥淚 just think if we don鈥檛 give them that moment of fame anymore, maybe they won鈥檛 take innocent people with them.鈥�
Alice Scott, whose husband, Joseph Scott, worked with Craddock in the Public Utilities Department, said she can understand why people don鈥檛 want to hear the shooter鈥檚 name.
But she said maybe after some time has passed, 鈥渨e can discuss why this happened.鈥�
鈥淢aybe he needed someone to talk to,鈥� she said. 鈥淢aybe he needed to (talk) out his troubles like everybody else.鈥�