Virginia Beach shooter submitted resignation hours before massacre, police say
The man who shot and killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building on Friday afternoon gave his two weeks' notice from his government job just hours before the massacre, city officials said Sunday.
At a press conference, Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen and Police Chief James A. Cervera confirmed statements from other city employees who had said 40-year-old DeWayne Craddock, a city employee, submitted a resignation letter to his supervisor on the morning of the shooting. Hansen said police and city officials are still trying to locate the letter.
"I will tell you, he was not terminated, and he was not in the process of being terminated. So hopefully we're going to put that piece of this to rest," Cervera said, referring to early reports that the shooting was retribution for Craddock being fired.
"As a manager, I have had a very thorough review of the status of the perpetrator. To my knowledge, the perpetrator's performance was satisfactory, he was in good standing within his department and there were no issues of discipline ongoing," Hansen said.
Cervera said they were looking at his employment status "to see if it had anything to do with the horrific acts and the events that he perpetrated. However, that's part of the ongoing investigation." Hansen confirmed they "don't have information he was targeting anyone specifically."
On Saturday, Virginia Beach officials identified the 12 victims, 11 of whom were city employees and one who worked as a contractor at the municipal center.
The gunman died after a shootout with police, Cervera said Sunday. He was found wounded but still alive, and police administered first aid in a bid to save his life. He died of his wounds after he was transported to the hospital.
"I want to accentuate the fact that we rendered first aid at the scene as we always do," Cervera said. "Our officers truly believe in the sanctity of life."
Craddock's motive is still in question. Cervera appealed to the public for any additional information surrounding the shooter and his experience working at the municipal center.
"We're looking as deep as we can into motives from work, personal motives, professional motives, motives that could have happened. Right now, we're in the process of doing all of this. Right now, we do not have anything glaring, there's nothing that hits you right between the eyes," Cervera said, asking for the public's help. "If anyone has any information on this particular individual, on a motive, on past experiences with him, let us know so we can put it all together."