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On Friday, a longtime city employee opened fire at his former job in Virginia Beach leaving 12 people dead. The shooter was killed in an extended shootout with officers.
News comes out now that the former worker, DeWayne Craddock, 40, of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center Complex, had submitted his resignation that day. Craddock worked in the public utilities department, worker maintain streets and protect wetlands.
Police Chief Jim Cervera said in a news conference Sunday morning that officers were on scene outside the building where the shooting happened within two minutes. Cervera said described the offices as a “honeycomb” and a “maze” due to renovations over the years.
Cervera described how officers who entered the building pursued the man through a tightly packed warren of offices and exchanged gunfire with him. He did not know how many rounds were fired but said it was “well into the double digits.”
“In the police world, anything more than three to five shots is a long gunbattle,” he said.
At one point, the suspect fired at officers through a door and a wall and hit one officer, who was saved by a bulletproof vest. Then the firing stopped, and police realized the gunman was holed up in an office.
When they got into the office, they took the wounded shooter into custody and gave him first aid, Cervera said.
Cervera said there is no information at this point whether he was targeting anyone specifically. There was also no immediate indication why the man, a civil engineer, had notified a superior of his intention to leave his job in two weeks. The assailant was an employee “in good standing” in his department, said Hansen said, who described the man’s performance as “satisfactory.”
As or Sunday morning, four people remained in critical condition.
Source: WNCT