Police in Virginia Beach have delivered a more complete picture of Friday afternoon’s tragic shooting at a municipal building that has left 13 people dead, including the shooter, and four people injured, including a police officer who was reportedly saved by his bullet-proof vest.
During a Saturday morning news conference, Va. Beach Police Chief James Cervera identified the gunman as DeWayne Craddock, a civil engineer who was a 15-year employee of the city’s public utilities department. Craddock was armed with a .45 caliber handgun, and died after a long gun fight with police. Craddock died after a lengthy shootout with police. The weapon he used had been purchased legally, as Craddock had no criminal record to speak of.
Cervera also refused to speculate about a motive.
DeWayne Craddock
Craddock joined the army national guard after graduating from Denbigh High School in nearby Newport News, Virginia, in 1996. During his time in the national guard, he received basic military training and advanced individual training at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
He eventually graduated with a degree in civil engineering from Old Dominion University, and worked a private firm for a few years before joining the town.
City Manager Dave Hansen said he had worked with Craddock for years. Others pointed out that his name frequently appeared on city notices.
“I have worked with most of them for many years,” said Dave Hansen, Virginia Beach City Manager. “We want you to know who they were so in the weeks to come you will learn what they meant to all of us, to their friends, to their families, and to their co-workers. They leave a void that we will never be able to fill.”
Craddock’s neighbors in the modest Va. Beach neighborhood where he had lived for at least 10 years told NBC News that he was quiet, mostly kept to himself, and that he was “jacked” from spending lots of time at the gym.
People who live near Craddock said police swarmed the small neighborhood of modest townhomes in Virginia Beach on Friday where some said he had lived for at least 10 years.
Several neighbors said Craddock was clean cut, a member of the neighborhood association board and spent time lots of time at the gym. But they also said he mostly kept to himself, especially after his wife left him some number of years ago.
Angela Scarborough, who lives in the neighborhood, said “he was very quiet. He would just wave.”
At one time, Craddock was married. But his wife apparently left him abruptly a few years back.
She said she knew his wife, but she left some time ago. “She just left,” Scarborough said. “Didn’t let us know or anything.”
“I’m very saddened because this is a great neighborhood,” Scarborough said. “It’s very sad to know that that’s the way he decided to resolve the situation. It’s just something I can’t believe.”
She added: “I would speak to him and he would speak back, but conversation-wise, I never had a conversation with him.”
Another neighbor said Craddock appeared to be awake at all hours of the night, occasionally dropping heavy objects and making other noises that sometimes disturbed his neighbors.
Finally, police have released the names of Craddock’s victims. 11 were city employees who worked with Craddock. The 12th was a contractor who was in the office applying for a permit. The full list can be found below:
The 11 city employees who died were identified as 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 and Robert “Bobby” Williams of Chesapeake. The 12th victim, Herbert “Bert” Snelling of Virginia Beach, was a contractor filling a permit.
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2KjIkyf Tyler Durden