The police radio crackled Friday with words no officer ever wants to hear: „active shooter.“ Officers arrived in moments, but the news only got worse. Twelve…
The police radio crackled Friday with words no officer ever wants to hear: „active shooter.“
Officers arrived in moments, but the news only got worse. Twelve people were killed and four injured Friday in a shooting rampage by a longtime city employee at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center in Virginia.
Police encountered bodies and radioed for medical for the wounded, some with multiple gunshot wounds. As police radio recordings reveal, it was hard to initially pinpoint the location of the assailant, a task complicated by his use of a silencer on his weapon. Then the words „Officer hit! Officer hit!“ rang out, compounding the rescue effort.
The shooting took place in Building 2, a three-story brick structure with about 400 municipal workers. The municipal center campus is adjacent to City Hall near Nimmo Parkway and Princess Anne Boulevard.
Police have not yet released an official timeline, but this is how events unfolded with times accurate to about one minute based on reports and exchanges between officers and dispatchers over the police radio:
Outside Building 2, a suspect later identified as DeWayne Craddock, 40, an engineer for the city’s public works department for 15 years, shoots a victim in a parked vehicle multiple times.
Craddock then enters the building and opens fire.
