VIRGINIA BEACH, the United States, June 1 (Xinhua) -- The shooter who killed 12 people in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach, in the eastern U.S. state of Virginia, on Friday, has been identified as DeWayne Craddock, a 15-year city employee, local police said on Saturday.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Jim Cervera told a press conference that Craddock, 40, had been employed with the city's public utility department for the past 15 years as a city engineer.
He was still employed at the public utilities at the time of the shooting and did have a security pass, City Manager Dave Hansen said.
Local media had described Craddock as a "disgruntled employee."
The suspect, who died after a "long gunbattle" with four police officers following the carnage, was said to have used a .45 caliber pistol equipped with a "sound suppressor" device and extended ammunition magazines.
The police chief declined to comment on any possible motive, while adding that more weapons were recovered at the scene and from the suspect's home.
Eleven of the 12 deaths in Friday's shooting were employees of the city, Hansen said. The other was a contractor seeking a permit.
"I have worked with most of them for many years," he said. "Today we all grieve."
The Virginia Beach shooting was the worst mass shooting in the United States since November 2018, when a dozen people were killed at a California bar.
