At least 11 people were killed and six people are hospitalized after a shooting Friday at a Virginia Beach municipal center, police said. The suspect is also dead.
Another victim has died bringing the total number of victims killed to 12 after a shooting at a Virginia Beach municipal center on Friday. The suspect is also dead.
Five victims were taken to the hospital and one died on the way.
One officer was shot but was saved by his bulletproof vest, police Chief Jim Cervera said at a news conference Friday evening.
Cervera said that the suspect, whose name has not yet been released, was a current, long-term employee of public utilities.
Mayor Bobby Dyer said, “This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.”
Emergency vehicle are seen near the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Nimmo Parkway following a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, May 31, 2019 in Virginia Beach, Va. At least one shooter wounded multiple people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said a suspect has been taken into custody.
(Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
Virginia Beach police respond to the report of an active shooter on Friday, May 31, 2019
(AP via WTKR)
AP via WTKR
Virginia Beach police respond to the report of an active shooter on Friday, May 31, 2019
(AP via WTKR)
AP via WTKR
Emergency vehicles respond near the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Nimmo Parkway following a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Va. At least one shooter wounded multiple people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said a suspect has been taken into custody.
(Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
An ambulance turns on Nimmo Parkway following a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Va. At least one shooter wounded multiple people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said a suspect has been taken into custody.
(Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
Virginia Beach Police Officers huddle near the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Nimmo Parkway following a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, May 31, 2019 in Virginia Beach, Va, At least one shooter wounded multiple people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said a suspect has been taken into custody.
(Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
A police officer directs traffic away from the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Nimmo Parkway following a shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center on Friday, May 31, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Va. At least one shooter wounded multiple people at a municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday, according to police, who said a suspect has been taken into custody.
(Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Kaitlin McKeown/The Virginian-Pilot via AP
Emergency vehicles fill the parking lot at the Princess Anne Middle School in Virginia Beach, Va, on Friday, May 31, 2019. A longtime city employee opened fire at a municipal building in Virginia Beach on Friday, killing 11 people before police shot and killed him, authorities said. Six other people were wounded in the shooting, including a police officer whose bulletproof vest saved his life, said Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera.
(AP Photo/Vicki Cronis-Nohe)
The shooting happened just after 4 p.m. in the 2400 block of Courthouse Drive, which is next to city hall.
Cervera said the suspect entered the building and began to indiscriminately fire. The suspect fired at police, and police returned fire.
City Council member Barbara Henley was in the parking lot of the complex when she saw people outside. She first thought it was an accident when she saw the police presence, and she found out it was an active-shooter situation when she spoke to people.
Henley said that she heard someone yell, “Get down,” in an authoritative voice.
“I’m just worried to death” and concerned for the safety of the people there, she said. Building 2, where the shooting happened, is an operations building that is accessible to the public and is very open, Henley added.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam also shared his condolences, saying in a statement, “We are devastated by the tragic shooting in Virginia Beach,” and that what happened was “unspeakable, senseless violence.”
Christina Pullen, a spokeswoman for the FBI office in Norfolk, said the bureau is responding to assist Virginia Beach police, The Associated Press reported. The Norfolk office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting local law enforcement, as well.
Police have set up a family assistance center at Princess Anne Middle School.
Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.
