Shooting at Virginia Beach municipal centre leaves 12 dead, including suspect

 

 

(Reuters) - A disgruntled city employee opened fire at the municipal centre in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday afternoon, killing 11 people and wounding at least six others before he was killed himself, the city's police chief said.

 

Chief James Cervera said the precise circumstances of the shooting in the coastal resort city remained under investigation. He gave few details of what was known, but said a police officer was among those who were struck by gunfire but survived.

 

Cervera said the suspect was a longtime current municipal employee, and described him as "disgruntled." It was not made immediately clear whether the gunman took his own life or was killed in an exchange of gunfire with police.

 

The shooting unfolded, according to Cervera, shortly after 4 p.m. at Building Two of the municipal centre complex, a facility which houses the city's public works and utilities next door to City Hall.

 

Virginia Beach, which sits on the Atlantic coast at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, is the state's most populous city with roughly 450,000 year-round residents.

 

"This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach," Mayor Bobby Dyer said at a news conference with the police chief. "The people involved are our friends, co-workers, neighbours, colleagues."

 

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by James Dalgleish and Leslie Adler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-06-01

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More senseless gun madness. 

Fun place USA, live shooting range these days.

 

 

Not even newsworthy anymore. USA is a sick society

Well this will no doubt call for all municipality workers to be armed from now on. It usually is something like this. It is always "Get more guns and arm more people". 

Just to be on the safe side.. shouldn't all municipal worker their family members be armed as well ?  <deleted> up society.  

No doubt the pathetic American gun lobby will suggest that if all those workers wore kevlar vests, carried a side arm together with a semi automatic machine pistol, that murdering nutter would have been taken down by the time the body count was only 6 !! 

 

God Save America. Certainly they need more than a piece of fiction to save them.

 

RIP to all of the deceased.

Edited June 1, 20197 yr by geoffbezoz

We need to give the police the tools(laws)to take the nuts guns and through background checks and a valid reason to own an assault rifle imo 

The posts above confirm that everyone it seems, with the exception of Americans realises there is a major gun control issue in the country. One wonders how massive a tragedy has to strike before they get the situation under control. Gun manufacturers and the NRA cannot be allowed to continue to profit at the expense of so many innocent lives.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families": [enter name of Republican politician here]

"Well, so much for that, what time the the baseball game start?  Honey, bring me a beer?"

 

Believe it or not, DT once advocated for taking guns away at one of his Apprentice-style cabinet meetings, was caught on video saying "first we take the guns away, then we get the legislation."  Seems the spin-meisters succeeded in hushing that one up, candy-arsed Dems dropped the ball on playing that up.

 

 

 

Edited June 1, 20197 yr by bendejo

4 minutes ago, Tug said:

We need to give the police the tools(laws)to take the nuts guns and through background checks and a valid reason to own an assault rifle imo 

Other than being in the military or law enforcement, what would be a valid reason for owning an assault weapon?

1 minute ago, bendejo said:

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families": [enter name of Republican politician here]

"Well, so much for that, what time the the baseball game start?  Honey, bring me a beer?"

 

 

 

 

Yeah, and we're coming up on school shooting time. It's been fairly quiet this year but the last week of school always seems to get active.

9 minutes ago, Tug said:

We need to give the police the tools(laws)to take the nuts guns and through background checks and a valid reason to own an assault rifle imo 

Can you tell us what the hell would be a "valid reason to own an assault rifle"?

7 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

with the exception of Americans

some Americans.

 

A great many USA citizens do not agree with gun lobby or armed idiots.  

The problem isnt the guns.  It's this "everybody gets a trophy" and "safespace" mentality.  If they didn't have guns, they would use pipe bombs or as we've seen in Great Britain, knives.  Quit coddling the children and teach them how to cope again.  This is a mental health issue, not a gun issue.  Guns are here to stay boys.

The second amendment in all its glory

Ask other countries again how they protect themselves without guns

30 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

The posts above confirm that everyone it seems, with the exception of Americans realises there is a major gun control issue in the country. One wonders how massive a tragedy has to strike before they get the situation under control. Gun manufacturers and the NRA cannot be allowed to continue to profit at the expense of so many innocent lives.

The majority of Americans are very very heart breaking soul destroying extremely frustrated with the gun lobby’s control of congress to say we are unaware of the problem is a cheep shot the vast majority want sensible gun control don’t fall for Donald’s bs we are sick and heart broken by the slaughter 

36 minutes ago, Tug said:

We need to give the police the tools(laws)to take the nuts guns and through background checks and a valid reason to own an assault rifle imo 

Or implement the Canadian policy (I think it is no hand guns, other restrictions on rifles, not totally sure). That shit doesn't happen here.

RIP to the victims. I've been to Virginia Beach many times. Nice quiet place.

1 hour ago, darksidedog said:

The posts above confirm that everyone it seems, with the exception of Americans realises there is a major gun control issue in the country. One wonders how massive a tragedy has to strike before they get the situation under control. Gun manufacturers and the NRA cannot be allowed to continue to profit at the expense of so many innocent lives.

In the US, everything's about money. Not lives, not ethics, not social cohesion, not loving thy neighbor; money! Go after the money and things will get better.

 

https://www.vox.com/2019/4/30/18510946/nra-finances-lapierre-north-accusations-corruption

Edited June 1, 20197 yr by lannarebirth

52 minutes ago, lannarebirth said:

Other than being in the military or law enforcement, what would be a valid reason for owning an assault weapon?

Working at Virginia beach municipality. Just saying.

But tongue in cheek aside you are of course 100% correct. But it is a complex issue. If you ban assault rifles which I agree you should nuts who do this will simply use a pump action shotgun or semi auto pistol of something similar to try to do the same thing. Unfortunately because this has happened so many times before the idea has caught on and has now literally become popular culture in America when you want revenge and suicide at the same time. They see the enormous media coverage and thats want they want. Its not going to go away I don't think.

When will USA Congress vote for better gun control than being bribed (oops, I mean receiving political donations) from the NRA.

Seems like we're off to a slow start in 2019, a bit behind the 2018 stats.

 

Just one school shooting, just one house of worship shooting.

 

Only 105 incidents with 120 deaths.

 

 

 

 

 

 

26 minutes ago, brycspain said:

The problem isnt the guns.  It's this "everybody gets a trophy" and "safespace" mentality.  If they didn't have guns, they would use pipe bombs or as we've seen in Great Britain, knives.  Quit coddling the children and teach them how to cope again.  This is a mental health issue, not a gun issue.  Guns are here to stay boys.

Any sane person on earth would trade gun violence for knife violence any day of the week.  A knife attack is limited by an attackers strength and reach.  A knife attack alerts people with situational awareness and gives them a chance to flee or confront.  A semi-automatic weapon mows us down like fish in a barrel before we can act and before we even know what hit us.  Guns can wipe out whole families at the drop of a hat and without so much as a scratch on the perpetrator.  When people say this is a mental health issue they are referring to the supporters and defenders who blame everything but access to guns.  The people who enable and perpetuate this insanity by spewing absurd nonsense and incoherent deflections.

The price to pay for the blessedness of The Second Amendment.

Why is this still international news?

Just another day in the land of the free.

The problem is well known, the solution is well known, but the politicians don't do what has to be done. In one word: America.

4 minutes ago, luckyluke said:

The price to pay for the blessedness of The Second Amendment.

 

It's time for a Constitutional Convention. There's a lot of good stuff to trade to make things better. Guns, term limits, campaign finance reform, abortion, balanced budgets, equal rights amendment, etc.

1 hour ago, grumbleweed said:

The second amendment in all its glory

Ask other countries again how they protect themselves without guns

They rely on the United States Army quite often. 

1 hour ago, lopburi3 said:

some Americans.

 

A great many USA citizens do not agree with gun lobby or armed idiots.  

 

So do something about it

1 hour ago, brycspain said:

The problem isnt the guns.  It's this "everybody gets a trophy" and "safespace" mentality.  If they didn't have guns, they would use pipe bombs or as we've seen in Great Britain, knives.  Quit coddling the children and teach them how to cope again.  This is a mental health issue, not a gun issue.  Guns are here to stay boys.

Utter BS

1 minute ago, FritsSikkink said:

Utter BS

Wrong!!!!

Obviously, I am an American.  And a retired police officer.  I am absolutely in favor of gun control and background checks.  One must be practical and realistic to address this problem.  You will never be able to take all the guns away. I am not defending this, but realistic and workable solutions must be found.  i wish I had the answer, but I don't.  As usual, posts are jumping to conclusions.  As of this writing a news conference just finished.  An assault rifle apparently was not the weapon, but a semi-automatic pistol. Yes, with a sound suppressor and multiple extended magazines, so it doesn't much matter what it was. 12 victims and one shooter dead.  This should always be newsworthy.  When it is treated as a common occurrence, and no one cares or listens, it will only get worse.