Disgruntled employee opens fire at Virginia Beach municipal complex
Washington: A disgruntled city employee opened fire at the municipal center in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday afternoon, killing 11 people and wounding at least six others before he was killed himself, the city's police chief said.
Chief James Cervera said the precise circumstances of the shooting in the coastal resort city remained under investigation. He gave few details of what was known, but said a police officer was among those who were struck by gunfire but survived.
Cervera said the suspect was a longtime current municipal employee, and described him as "disgruntled." It was not made immediately clear whether the gunman took his own life or was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.
The shooting unfolded, according to Cervera, shortly after 4pm at Building Two of the municipal center complex, a facility which houses the city's public works and utilities next door to City Hall.
Virginia Beach, which sits on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, is the state's most populous city with roughly 450,000 year-round residents.
"This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach," Mayor Bobby Dyer said at a news conference with the police chief. "The people involved are our friends, co-workers, neighbors, colleagues."
City Councilman Aaron Rouse Tweeted, “Pray for our City!”
A woman who works in the Public Works building where the shooting occurred said she and about 20 co-workers barricaded themselves in offices with desks.
The woman, Megan Banton, told a local news show, Channel 13 NewsNow, that she could hear gunshots and police officers screaming for people to “get down.”
“I just don’t know why anyone would do something like that,” Banton told the station.
“I don’t know what would possess somebody to come in and just start shooting at people.”
AP, Reuters, The Washington Post
More to come