Dewayne Craddock, who killed twelve people and injured four others at Municipal Building 2 in Virginia Beach Friday, resigned his position with the city hours before, according to the Virginian-Pilot.
The gunman, identified as DeWayne Craddock, had been a Public Utilities Engineer with the city for fifteen years and had emailed his superiors that day to give them his two weeks’ notice, according to city officials.
Instead of resigning, he walked into the building with two guns, went to the men’s room to brush his teeth as was his custom, greeted a colleague, and then went off to murder twelve innocent people and critically injure four others.
“We’re determining where that letter is,” City Manager Dave Hansen said at a Sunday news conference, according to the Pilot. “He notified his chain of command [Friday].”
Police Chief Jim Cervera said the gunman had not been fired and that he had been in good standing in his department. Only he wasn’t in good standing according to a NY Times report.
Craddock faced disciplinary action for a violent fight at work, according to a report.
He recently started showing serious behavioral problems and got into physical “scuffles” with other city workers, a source told The New York Times.
They escalated in the week before the murders and he got into a violent confrontation on the grounds. Craddock was aware that he was facing disciplinary action.
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If it was that violent, why was he still working for them? Perhaps it was a PC issue? Craddock didn’t have gun problems, he had mental problems. It would be interesting to know what the fights were about. He should have been terminated right away if this is true
He didn’t have a criminal record. He left no explanatory note or online manifesto, and allegedly shunned social media.
Craddock was a loner and his wife left years before. He was completely isolated and avoided contact with other people and concentrated on his workouts at the gym.
He could be one of these suicidal types who wanted to make a name for himself by taking others with him or he was out for revenge. We don’t have enough information.
WDTV REPORT
Two city workers said Sunday that they are lucky to be alive after coming face-to-face with the gunman during his rampage.
Terry Inman, an account clerk in the city’s Public Utilities Department, said he turned around and saw Craddock standing there with a gun. Inman said he told him, “DeWayne, stop!”
“He turned and looked straight at me, but he didn’t see me. He looked straight in my face, and he did not see me standing there because he didn’t raise the gun. He didn’t even make an indication that he saw anyone there,” Inman told The Associated Press. “To me, that was the Holy Spirit inflecting something on that man to the point where he didn’t see Terry Inman standing there.”
Inman’s colleague, Ned Carlstrom, crossed paths with the gunman three times and made eye contact twice. He can only guess that Craddock spared him because they parked near each other and often had lighthearted conversations during the morning walk to the building.
“He had the gun down at his side. He was so close to me. He swung his arm out. He damn near hit me with the gun. That’s how close we were,” Carlstrom said. “But he never raised the gun at me. He looked up at me briefly.”
Inman said he did not know of any turmoil in Craddock’s life.
“It’s so cotton-picking cliche you almost hate to say it, but he has always been rock-solid kind of positive guy. He always had a smile on his face,” Inman said. “Nothing in (his) character would cause you to think, ‘This guy is going to come in and kill 11 of my colleagues … 12 people that work in the same building.'”
SCHUMER EXPLOITS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR A GUN BILL
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer is using the mass killings as an opportunity to call for passage of a draconian gun bill. One of the clauses in the bill demands a universal background check but how would that have saved these people? The gun isn’t to blame and he was eligible to own the guns.
THE DECEASED AND A HERO
One of the men who was murdered, Keith Cox lost his life trying to protect his coworkers.
Eleven city workers were killed in the rampage, which was among the deadliest episodes of workplace violence in the United States in recent years. The employees, who had collectively worked for the Virginia Beach government for more than 150 years, were LaQuita Brown; Ryan Keith Cox; Tara Welch Gallagher; Mary Louise Gayle; Alexander Mikhail Gusev; Joshua O. Hardy; Michelle Langer, known as Missy; Richard H. Nettleton; Katherine A. Nixon; Christopher Kelly Rapp; and Robert Williams.
Herbert Snelling, a contractor who was at the municipal center to see about a permit, was also killed.
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