A longtime employee opened fire at a local government building in the US state of Virginia, killing 11 people before police fatally shot him, authorities have 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.
The shooting happened shortly after 4pm local time (9pm BST) when the employee of the Public Utilities Department entered a building at the Virginia Beach Municipal Centre, and “immediately began to indiscriminately fire upon all of the victims,” Mr Cervera said.
He did not release the suspect’s name.
Police at the scene where 11 people were killed during a mass shooting in Virginia Beach (L Todd Spencer/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Police entered the building and got out as many employees as they could, then exchanged fire with the suspect, who was killed, the chief said.
The shooting sent shock waves through Virginia Beach, the state’s largest city and a popular holiday spot in south-eastern Virginia.
But the building where the attack took place is in a suburban area miles away from the high-rise hotels along the beach and the business area.
“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach,” mayor Bobby Dyer said.
This is a tragic day for Virginia Beach and our entire Commonwealth. My heart breaks for the victims of this devastating shooting, their families, and all who loved them. I am on my way to Virginia Beach now and will be there within the hour.
— Ralph Northam (@GovernorVA) May 31, 2019
Megan Banton, an administrative assistant who works in the building where the shooting happened, said she heard gunshots, called the police and barricaded a door.
“We tried to do everything we could to keep everybody safe,” she said.
“We were all just terrified. It felt like it wasn’t real, like we were in a dream. You are just terrified because all you can hear is the gunshots.”
She said she texted her mother, telling her that there was an active gunman in the building and she and others were waiting for police.
Ms Banton works in an office of about 20 people that is part of the public works department.
“Thank God my baby is OK,” Ms Banton’s mother, Dana Showers, said.
Five patients were being treated at Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and a sixth was being transferred to the Trauma Centre at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, Sentara Healthcare tweeted.
Active shooter situation update 3:Five patients to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital.One patient flown by Sentara Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance from Sentara Princess Anne Hospital to the Level I Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital. [1/2]
— Sentara Healthcare (@sentarahealth) May 31, 2019
Active shooter situation update 3:Now arrived at Sentara Norfolk General. This is all the information we have at this time. [2/2]
— Sentara Healthcare (@sentarahealth) May 31, 2019
Paul Swain, 50, was among those who arrived at the Princess Anne Middle School to reunite with loved ones who were in the building during the shooting.
He said he saw his fiancee from across the car park, clearly in an agitated state.
“I think she knew some of the people,” he said.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here