Twelve people were shot and killed in a Virginia Beach public works building Friday afternoon, the Washington Post reported.
Virginia Beach Police Chief James A. Cervera said the shooter was a longtime municipal employee who “fired indiscriminately” on several floors of the building. The shooter was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police. “This was a long-term, large gunfight,” to stop the shooter, Cervera said.
Eleven of the victims were city employees, one was a contractor who was at the building to file a permit. The city identified the victims as Virginia Beach residents Ryan Keith Cox, Michelle “Missy” Langer, Tara Welch Gallagher, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Katherine A. Nixon, Joshua O. Hardy and Herbert “Bert” Snelling; Chesapeake residents Laquita C. Brown and Robert “Bobby” Williams; Norfolk resident Richard H. Nettleton; and Powhatan resident Christopher Kelly Rapp.
An official event to remember the victims will be held June 6 at 7 p.m. at Rock Church, located at 640 Kempsville Road. The city has set up a site with dedicated information about the shooting, including how people can help the families of victims.
