At least 12 people were killed while several others sustained injuries after a gunman opened fire at a municipal centre in Virginia Beach in the United States on Friday. The mass shooting started just after 4:00 pm (local time). The gunman entered one of the buildings at the Virginia Beach municipal centre and “immediately began to indiscriminately fire on all of the victims”.
The gunman, whose name has not been released, has been described as a “disgruntled public utilities employee” at the Virginia Beach municipal centre.
The mass shooting took place in Building 2 of the municipal center, according to police. The injured have been taken to the Virginia Beach General Hospital for treatment. The injured included a police officer who was “saved by his vest,” police said.
The suspect died after trading fire with responding officers, police chief James Cervera. “We have 11 deceased victims there at the scene, six more victims transported to area hospitals,” he said. Cervera said that the condition of those wounded was not immediately available.
“Right now we have a lot of questions. The whys, they will come later. Right now we have more questions than we have answers,” he said.
“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach,” said Mayor Bobby Dyer, adding, “The people involved are our friends, coworkers, neighbor, colleagues.”
The Washington-based Gun Violence Archive monitoring group stated that the Virginia Beach municipal centre shooting was the 150th mass shooting in the United States this year, in which four or more people are shot or killed.
One of the eyewitnesses to the shooting, Megan Blanton, said that she was in the Virginia Beach municipal centre building when the shooting began. She said that she along with other co-workers hid in an office and used a desk to keep the door shut.
Gunman openely fires at municipal centre on Virginia Beach in US
