Twelve people were killed and at least four others were injured after a city employee opened fire at a large government complex in Virginia Friday afternoon, officials said.
Police responded to the Virginia Beach Municipal Center shortly after 4 p.m. when a longtime public utilities employee entered Building 2 and "began to indiscriminately fire upon all the victims," Virginia Beach Chief James Cervera said, Buzz Feed reports
"This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach," Mayor Bobby Dyer said during a news conference. "The people involved are our friends coworkers, neighbors, colleagues."
The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and Virginia State Police are assisting in the investigation.
Arthur Felton, who was inside Building 2 when the shooting began, told the Virginian-Pilot he evacuated the building after a coworker heard gunshots.
"I never thought this would happen in my building," said Felton, an 18-year employee in the planning department. "The people who were shot — I’m sure I know most of them."
Megan Banton, a public utilities employee, told WAVY-TV she and her coworkers barricaded themselves in their office as she called 911.
"We just heard people yelling and screaming to get down," Banton said. "I don't know what kind of person would do something like that."
Another employee who was in the building, Zand Bakhtiari, told the Pilot he heard a quick succession of gunfire coming from a floor above or below him.
“It was repeated, rapid gunfire,” said Bakhtiari, who was one of five people left in the Geographic Information Services Department when the shooting broke out.
After a few minutes, the gunfire stopped, Bakhtiari told the newspaper, adding that he could smell gunpowder.
Virginia Beach is the most populous city in the state with an estimated 450,000 residents. The city is located in the southeastern part of the state on the Atlantic coast.
