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Virginia Beach Police release timeline of response to mass shooting

Posted at 11:40 AM, Jun 02, 2019
and last updated 2019-06-02 11:40:43-04

VIRGINIA BEACH. Va. – A timeline of the mass shooting that left 12 people dead and four more injured in Virginia Beach was released at a Sunday press conference.

Police Chief Cervera said that Emergency Communications dispatched officers to the Virginia Beach Municipal Center at 4:08 p.m., and officers were on-scene within two minutes.

Officers made contact with DeWayne Craddock between 4:15 p.m. and 4:18 p.m., and engaged in what Cervera called a long gun battle.

According to Cervera, the response was complicated by the size and layout of the building — it was built in the 1970s, and later construction subdivided offices, turning the interior into a “honeycomb.”

Cervera said Craddock was firing while moving, and that multiple doors in the building, especially in the hallways, were closed and locked as employees sheltered in place.

Craddock fired through a wall and door at officers. Officers breached the door when the firing stopped, then rendered first aid to Craddock, removed him from the building and sent him to an area hospital.

Cervera said the total time it took to take Craddock into custody was 36 minutes.

Craddock’s official cause of death is listed as multiple gunshot wounds sustained during an active shooter incident, and the manner of death is being ruled as a homicide.

The first patient taken to the hospital was within 25 minutes, and the last injured person was taken to the hospital within an hour.

Click here for our full coverage on the Virginia Beach mass shooting.