VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) —Hundreds of city employees streamed into the Virginia Beach Convention Center this morning for a somber gathering three days after a gunman opened fire in a municipal building, killing 12 people. The private gathering Monday was for employees only. Two city fire trucks are parked outside the convention center. One has a huge American flag hanging from a ladder. Michelle Walz is a supervisor in the city’s Parks Department. He says City Manager David Hansen spoke to employees and told them that they will stick together and work through the tragedy as a “family.” The city is making a large number of counselors available for employees.
City officials say DeWayne Craddock opened fire on his co-workers Friday, hours after he sent his supervisor a resignation email. Craddock was an engineer in the city’s utilities department and was killed during a gunbattle with police. Officials say the resignation email was brief and didn’t give any hint of the coming violence.
