A city employee opened fire at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, killing 12 people.
Friday's shooting in Virginia Beach's public works department leaves more questions than answers – and also leaves a city in deep mourning.
Disgruntled city employee DeWayne Craddock, 40, went on a shooting rampage Friday afternoon in the city department where he had worked as a certified professional engineer for approximately 15 years. He fired through all three floors of the building, killing 11 city employees and one contractor who was pulling a permit, before police responding to the scene engaged in a long shootout with Craddock, eventually killing him.
Here are the names of the victims:
Laquita C. Brown of Chesapeake
Tara Welch Gallagher of Virginia Beach
Mary Louise Gayle of Virginia Beach
Alexander Mikhail Gusev of Virginia Beach
Katherine A. Nixon of Virginia Beach
Richard H. Nettleton of Norfolk
Christopher Kelly Rapp of Powhatan
Ryan Keith Cox of Virginia Beach
Joshua A. Hardy of Virginia Beach
Michelle "Missy" Langer of Virginia Beach
Robert "Bobby" Williams of Chesapeake
Herbert "Bert" Snelling, a contractor who was in the office at the time
Most of the city employees had worked for the public works department for multiple years. Victim Robert Williams had been employed there for 41 years.
No motive for the shooting has been determined as of yet, as everything is still under investigation.
"Right now, we have a lot of questions," Virginia Beach police Chief James Cervera said. "The whys, they will come later. Right now, we have more questions than we have answers."
"We're going to move forward as a city, as a community," Mayor Bobby Dyer said. "We're going to be there for the families. The people that were victims of this tragic event, they were family members, they were co-workers, they were a vital part of the community of Virginia Beach, and they will not be forgotten."
We at OCN offer our condolences to all the victims' family members and loved ones in the wake of this tragedy. Our hearts are broken, and we mourn with all of the Hampton Roads community.
