Virginia Beach shooter notified his boss of plans to leave job

VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The gunman who attacked his colleagues at a Virginia Beach government office building resigned by email hours before the shooting, a city official said Sunday as authorities sought a motive in the assault that killed 12 people.

Officials gave no indication why 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock had notified a superior of his intention to leave his job as a civil engineer in the utilities department. He was an employee “in good standing” and showed “satisfactory” job performance, City Manager Dave Hansen said.

Police Chief James Cervera described a chaotic scene Friday as officers entered the building and pursued the assailant through a tightly packed warren of offices that the chief likened to a maze or a honeycomb. They exchanged fire in a protracted gunbattle. Cervera 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. He was taken from the scene by ambulance 36 minutes after officers arrived and died at a hospital. A medical examiner will determine whether he was killed by an officer’s bullet or his own, the chief said.

There was no indication he targeted anyone specifically. Cervera said investigators are retracing the gunman’s activities.

Craddock appeared to have had no felony record, making him eligible to purchase guns. Government investigators identified two .45-caliber pistols used in the attack, and all indicators were that he purchased them legally in 2016 and 2018, said Ashan Benedict, the regional special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. The police chief said at least one had a noise suppressor.

Officers found victims throughout the building, on three floors. Among the dead were four other engineers who worked to maintain streets and protect wetlands and three right-of-way agents who reviewed property lines. Others included an account clerk, a technician, an administrative assistant and a special projects coordinator. In all, they had served the city of Virginia Beach for more than 150 years.

The 12th fatality was a contractor who was in the building seeking a permit.

At least four other people who were wounded remained hospitalized in critical condition Sunday.