“You won’t get gun control by disarming law-abiding citizens. There’s only one way to get real gun control: Disarm the thugs and the criminals, lock them up and if you don’t actually throw away the key, at least lose it for a long time… It’s a nasty truth, but those who seek to inflict harm are not fazed by gun controllers. I happen to know this from personal experience.” – President Ronald Reagan
FoxNews.com reports that
A disgruntled city employee shot and killed 12 people and injured several more Friday when he opened fire inside a Virginia Beach municipal building before he was killed by police, Police Chief Jim A. Cervera said on Friday.
DeWayne Craddock, 40, was a longtime public utility worker who made multiple firearm purchases in recent weeks, officials told the Wall Street Journal. Police did not describe a possible motive for the attack.
The suspected shooter died in a gunfight with police officers. A police officer was also wounded, but was saved by his bullet-proof vest, Cervera said.
“I can tell you that it was a long gun battle between those four officers and that suspect,” Cervera said.
“This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said. “The people involved are our friends, co-workers, neighbors and colleagues.”
Five people were taken to Virginia Beach General, and one was being flown to the Level I Trauma Center at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, The Virginian-Pilot reported.
Authorities said via social media they believed there was just one shooter involved at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, which houses over 400 workers. The White House said President Donald Trump had been briefed and was monitoring the situation.
As the dramatic event was unfolding, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam urged his constituents to stay away from the area and abide law enforcement warnings in a tweet on Friday.
That they should be taken in this manner is the worst kind of tragedy,” the governor said during a Friday night news conference.
The shooting occurred shortly after 4 p.m. when the suspect entered Building 2 of the center on Friday afternoon. It houses departments such as planning, public works and public utilities, and employees were seen exiting the building in tears, with some in need of medical assistance, according to reports by Fox News affiliate WAVY News 10.
Officers found victims on all three of the building’s floors Cervera said. They found .45 Caliber handgun with large empty magazines and a sliencer.
“It’s a huge scene,” Cervera told reporters at a news conference. “Please understand the intensity of this.”
A rifle and pistol found by police at the scene are believed to have been used in the shooting, CNN reported. The weapons were believed to have been purchased legally.
Christina Pullen, a spokeswoman for the FBI in Norfolk, said the bureau was responding to assist Virginia Beach police, The Associated Press reported.
According to The Virginian-Pilot, City Council Member Barbara Henley had just pulled up to the City Hall building just after 4 p.m. to pick up the agenda when she heard sirens and saw police cars.
“I thought it was an accident,” Henley said, according to the paper.
Megan Banton, an administrative assistant in the public utilities office where the gunman worked, said she called 911 and barricaded the door.
“We tried to do everything we could to keep everybody safe,” she said. “We were all just terrified. It felt like it wasn’t real, like we were in a dream. You are just terrified because all you can hear is the gunshots.”
Public Works spokesman Drew Lankford told the paper he left the building to get a haircut. He received a call from his daughter, who also works in the building, that there was a shooter and that security instructed everyone to get underneath their desks.
“This day will not define Virginia Beach,” Councilman Aaron R. Rouse said during the news conference. “We will come together. We will show the strength of our city.”
Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine said he was devasted by news of the shooting.
“I’m devastated to learn of the tragic shooting tonight in Virginia Beach. My heart is with everyone who lost a loved one, and I’m praying for a swift recovery for all those who have been injured,” tweeted.
Sen. Mark Warner, also a Democrat, wrote: “Praying for all involved as we learn more.”
Several Democratic presidential candidates also tweeted their condolences over Friday’s events.
Make no mistake, yesterday was and is a senseless tragedy which was caused by a very sick and twisted individual.
However, once they have finished with their condolences, be prepared for Congressional Democrats to once again call for Gun Control.
The Democrats’ never-ending quest for “Gun Control”, if successful, would only succeed in controlling law-abiding American Citizens, instead of punishing those who operate outside of our laws, such as the Virginia Beach shooter, DeWayne Braddock, Parkland High School Mass Murderer Nikolas Cruz, and the thugs who have turned Former President Obama’s “hometown” of Chicago and my hometown of Memphis into their own personal “Killing Fields”.
The leader of the bloody Russian Revolution, Vladimir Lenin, once wrote that
One man with a gun can control 100 without one.
If the Democrats had their way, we would live in a country under the oppression of restrictive gun laws, which would be modeled after those in Europe. And, as past events have plainly shown, those restrictive gun laws have allowed Islamic Terrorists and other murderous nut jobs to kill innocent people unchallenged, because none of those innocent people were allowed to carry a weapon with which to defend themselves.
In fact, in some cases, even the police officers, who first arrived on the scene, were unarmed, and had to call for additional forces, thus giving the perpetrators more time to murder and maim the innocent.
One of our Founding Fathers, Dr. Benjamin Franklin, once wrote,
Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.
Like Dr. Franklin and the rest of those who have fought for our freedom, average Americans realize what Democrats do not.
The problem in stopping mass murders like yesterday’s from happening is not that there are not enough gun laws. The problem is the gun laws on the books are not properly enforced.
The dissolution of the Family Unit, the revolving door state of our Municipal Justice Systems, and, as in the case of DeWayne Braddock and Nikolas Cruz, the lack of recognition and treatment of the mentally ill and wannabe Terrorists, have a lot to do with the rise of these horrible massacres in America and the horrible violence which plagues cities like Chicago and Memphis.
What Liberals have never understood, in their continuous quest to take away the Second Amendment rights of average Americans, is that we will never surrender our Constitutional Right to defend ourselves and our families from enemies foreign and domestic.
What part of the words quote “shall not be infringed” do you Liberals not understand?
Passing more restrictive gun laws is not the answer.
Criminals are called “outlaws” for a reason.
They will find a way to get guns. They do now.
This is a people problem. Not a gun problem.
After all, have you ever seen a gun pull its own trigger?
Until He Comes,
KJ