An American flag stands at the edge of a police cordon in front of a municipal building that was the scene of the shooting. Photo / AP
An American flag stands at the edge of a police cordon in front of a municipal building that was the scene of the shooting. Photo / AP
Officials have identified the gunman who killed 12 people and then was shot by officers at a Virginia Beach municipal building as DeWayne Craddock.
Authorities used a news conference to focus on the victims.
They projected photos on a screen and gave each victim's name along with biographical details.
A work colleague said before going on his shooting rampage Craddock was spotted brushing his teeth in the office bathrooms.
Joseph Scott, an engineering technician with the department of public works, said: "He was in there brushing his teeth, which he always did after he ate. I said 'Hey, how you doing? What are you doing this weekend?' It was just a brief conversation."
"I'm sure I'm going to hear all kinds of things about DeWayne, but I liked him," Scott told CNN. "I worked with him. He was what I thought was a good person. When we were together, we would talk about family, friends, things that we were going to do, trips we were going to take and things like that."
City manager Dave Hansen says 11 of the 12 victims were employees of the city.
He said families of the victims have been notified.
They were named as Laquita C. Brown, Tara Welsch Gallagher, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Katherine A. Nixon, Richard H. Nettleton, Christopher Kelly Rapp, Ryan Keith Cox, Joshua A. Hardy, Michelle "Missy" Langer, Robert "Bobby" Williams and Herbert "Bert" Snelling.
He said he'd worked with most of them for many years, and they "leave a void that we will never be able to fill."
Officials identified the suspect for the first time after talking about the victims.
They say they will name Craddock only once, then will not refer to him again.
"He will be forever referred to as the suspect because our focus now is the dignity and respect to the victims in this case and to their families," Police Chief James Cervera said.
Following New Zealand's devastating mosque shootings on March 15, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern set the example for the world in an emotive parliamentary meeting on March 19, the first since the worst massacre in the country's modern history, when she said sbe would deny the accused gunman the fame he sought by refusing to even speak his name.
"He sought many things from his act of terror, but one was notoriety," Ardern told Parliament, the nation, and the world. "And that is why you will never hear me mention his name."
She added: "He is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist. But he will, when I speak, be nameless."
A police officer with his hand on the shoulder of a man with a bloodied shirt at the Virginia Beach Municipal Centre. Photo / Supplied
The Virginia Beach suspect, a long-time city employee, used a .45-calibre handgun with a suppressor to fatally shoot 12 people on three floors of a municipal building in Virginia Beach before police shot him.
Four other people were wounded in Friday's shooting, including a police officer whose bulletproof vest saved his life.
The suspect, a 40-year-old engineer who worked for the Virginia Beach water and sanitary sewer services for 15 years, served at times as a public relations rep.
Neighbours at his apartment said he went in and out at all hours of the night.
"You heard him walking around; he would drop stuff at like 2am, and me and my roommate would try to figure out what he was doing," Cassetty Howerin, 23, told CNN.
He had no prior criminal record, other than a few traffic violations, according to The New York Times.
Police Chief James Cervera says the suspect engaged in a "long gun battle" with law enforcement officers.
He says officers gave the suspect first aid after he was shot, but he died.
Authorities would not say whether the suspect was facing any sort of disciplinary action related to his employment.
Virginia Beach City Manager Dave Hansen said at a press conference that he had been employed by the city for 15 years as an engineer.
Hansen said the suspect was still employed at the time of the shooting on Friday afternoon and possessed a security pass that allowed him access to nonpublic areas of the municipal building.
Police say they recovered "additional weapons" that were in the possession of the suspect.
About 200 people came out in Virginia Beach to pray for the victims.
The prayer vigil drew city workers, community leaders, and residents who just wanted to offer hugs and condolences for the lost lives.
