DeWayne Antonio Craddock (born DeWayne Antonio Hamilton)
Motive
Unknown
On May 31, 2019, a mass shooting occurred at a municipal building in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The gunman, DeWayne Craddock, who was a disgruntled city employee, fatally shot 12 people and wounded four others before he was killed by responding police officers. It is the second-deadliest workplace shooting in U.S. history after the 1986 Edmond post office shooting and the deadliest mass shooting in Virginia since the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting.
Shooting
The perpetrator fatally shot a person in a car in the parking lot of Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center and one person on the steps before entering the building and shooting people on all three floors.[3] The building housed the city's public works, utilities, and planning departments in an open-government facility with no additional security to enter but security passes required for accessing employee areas and conference rooms.[3][4] He fired indiscriminately[5][6] and there was no immediate indication that he had targeted anyone in particular.[7] He was fatally shot during a prolonged gunfight with police who responded to the scene.[7]
Some members of the public and employees were initially unaware of the shooter, and many were alerted by phone calls, text messages, or word of mouth to shelter in place or evacuate the location.[8] The confusion was in part due to renovations that were underway at the time leading many to believe the shots were from a nail gun or another tool.[9] An active shooter situation at the municipal center was confirmed by an email from the Communications Office at 4:22 pm and the city manager around 4:40 p.m.[10]
The shooter killed twelve people. Eleven were city employees and one was a contractor in the building to obtain a permit. The employees had a combined 150 years of service, one having worked there for 41 years, another who had worked for just 11 months. Six employees worked in the public utilities department, alongside their killer.[16] Four other people were injured and hospitalized, with three in critical condition; in addition, a police officer was shot in his ballistic vest.[17]
According to her family's attorney, one of the victims contemplated bringing a pistol with her to work the night prior to the shooting but did not do so due to a city policy forbidding it.[18]
Perpetrator
The perpetrator was identified by the police as 40-year-old DeWayne Antonio Craddock (born DeWayne Antonio Hamilton;[19] October 15, 1978 – May 31, 2019).[20][3] He worked as an engineer in the city's public utilities department until tendering his resignation in an email he sent to city management a few hours before the attack.[21] Having resigned "within good standing in his department", Craddock still possessed a security pass to enter employee workspaces within the building at the time of the attack.[22][23] In the days prior to the shooting, he was alleged to have been involved in physical scuffles with fellow city employees and threatened with disciplinary action.[24] However, the city manager said that when Craddock resigned, he "had no issues of discipline ongoing".
Prior to the shooting, Craddock did not have a criminal record with the exception of minor traffic violations.[24]
Aftermath
Multiple vigils were organized for the victims of the shooting by churches and other organizations.[28] Members of the Courthouse Community United Methodist Church prepared food for police at the scene, after it was secured.[7]
The day after the shooting, Virginia Beach police held a news conference that included a detailed presentation on the names, photos, and job titles of the twelve victims who were killed, including the towns in which they lived.[29] They announced the perpetrator's name only once, vowing that it would be the only time they would ever do so.[29]
On July 2, 2019, the Virginia Beach City Council voted to order an independent investigation of the circumstances that led to the mass shooting. The decision came after the families of some of the victims expressed dissatisfaction with the information released by the authorities.[30]
Reactions
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam tweeted, "My heart breaks for the victims of this devastating shooting, their families, and all who loved them."[31] Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said, "This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach."[12] He tried to quell both sides of the gun control debate, asking all to avoid "knee jerk reaction" and "bipartisan bureaucratic malpractice."[23] Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring said, "In recent years there have been mass shootings at American elementary schools, colleges, government buildings, offices, concerts, movie theaters, nightclubs, and even places of worship, like churches, mosques, and synagogues. We have to do more to stop this kind of violence."[32]
Virginia's junior U.S. Senator, Tim Kaine, promised to "keep pushing for Congress to take action to prevent the daily scourge of gun violence in America."[32] Virginia's senior U.S. Senator, Mark Warner, thanked police for their response.[33] U.S. Representative Elaine Luria, who represents Virginia Beach, offered sympathies and thanked "first responders and law enforcement for risking their lives to bring a suspect into custody." She further said that the incident "is more proof Congress must act to prevent gun violence."[34] U.S. President Donald Trump also offered condolences,[35] as did House SpeakerNancy Pelosi.[17]
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