Everything We Know About the Virginia Beach Shooting

The gunman, a 40-year-old municipal employee later identified by police as DeWayne Craddock, came armed with two .45-caliber handguns, at least one of which he had equipped with a sound suppressor, and extended-capacity magazines.The gunman apparently shot and killed his first victim in a car outside the three-story building where he worked for the public utilities department, known as Building 2. The entire attack lasted about 40 minutes, according to an analysis of the police-scanner traffic during the incident.It was a “horrific crime scene,” Cervera said on Saturday, explaining that handling the aftermath had taken “a physical, emotional, and psychological toll on everyone who spent the night in that building.”All but one of the dead were city employees, while the one person who wasn’t was a local contractor who had been inside dealing with a permit. After the attack, the complex looked like a war zone, Police Chief Cervera told reporters.Mayor Bobby Dyer said on Friday night that the attack involved “our friends, co-workers, neighbors, [and] colleagues” and marked “the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.”“You don’t prepare for something like this — it’s a nightmare no one wants to actually live through,” Mayor Dyer said on Friday, but the police department had been actively trying to prepare the community for such an event for years. At the same time, Friday’s attack happened literally across the street from City Hall and the police department in Virginia Beach, and while city authorities presumably did everything they could, as fast as they could, in response — and that saved lives — they couldn’t prevent the deaths of another 12 people in yet another mass shooting.Some of the 12 workers killed in Friday’s attack had worked for the City of Virginia Beach for decades. He was at Building 2 to fill a permit at the time and was reportedly both a husband and a father.Robert “Bobby” Williams was a special projects coordinator who had worked at the public utilities department for 41 years.Of the injured — who remain unidentified — three remained in critical condition as of Saturday, according to the Associated Press. At least one anonymous Virginia government official has referred to Craddock as a “disgruntled employee,” but that characterization has not been confirmed, as of Saturday, either.Police Chief Cervera said when he released the shooter’s name that the police would only be referring to his name that one time and never again — in order to keep the focus on the victims. When we were together, we would talk about family, friends, things that we were going to do, trips we were going to take and things like that.” …Scott said he doesn’t want Craddock “painted as an evil person — something happened, but it wasn’t his nature,” adding that he lost many friends Friday.Taking America’s dumpster fire on the roadWith congressional Democrats mulling impeachment, [President Trump’s] Europe trip should be a welcome reprieve. …The transcripts of the Flynn-Kisylak calls would provide a rare glimpse into the power of American surveillance to capture the private discussions of foreign emissaries — and an intimate look at a budding relationship between a top Russian official and one of the president-elect’s most trusted lieutenants in the weeks before Trump took office.Bloomberg on what they did release:A lawyer for President Donald Trump asked for a “heads up” from former national Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s attorney as Flynn was poised to enter a cooperation agreement with prosecutors from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office, according to a transcript of the message made available Friday.The lawyer, John Dowd, said in a voicemail the warning was necessary for the sake of “protecting all our interests, if we can, without you having to give up any … confidential information.” Dowd also reminded the general’s lawyer of the president’s “feelings” toward Flynn and said “that still remains.” …In the transcript, which was peppered with ellipses and incomplete phrases, Dowd raised the prospect of information that might be damaging to the president. “That means that all 12 DNC sanctioned debates will feature a diverse group of moderators and panelists including women and people of color, ensuring that the conversations reflect the concerns of all Americans.”AOC has found an unlikely ally: Ted CruzSen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez set aside their Twitter bickering Thursday to strike an unusual bargain: an agreement to work together on a bill to ban former members of Congress from lobbying for life.The Texas Republican and the New York Democrat made the pact on Twitter after Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a report by the watchdog group Public Citizen on the number of former lawmakers who’ve headed to K Street this year.“I don’t think it should be legal at ALL to become a corporate lobbyist if you’ve served in Congress,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.Cruz, who’s feuded with Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter before, tweeted that he agreed, suggesting it might be “a chance for some bipartisan cooperation.”Ocasio-Cortez responded by proposing a deal: “If we can agree on a bill with no partisan snuck-in clauses, no poison pills, etc - just a straight, clean ban on members of Congress becoming paid lobbyists - then I’ll co-lead the bill with you.”“You’re on,” Cruz responded.