At Least 12 Killed in Virginia Beach Mass Shooting
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Authorities in the U.S. state of Virginia search for answers after a shooter opens fire, killing 12 people at a city office building. Plus the U.S. president threatens tariffs on Mexico. We'll take a look at the impact of this latest move. Also ahead this hour, a safe haven no more. Syria's Idlib province becomes the latest target in the country's civil war. Live from CNN headquarters, welcome to viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm George Howell. CNN NEWSROOM starts now.</s>HOWELL: We are following breaking news out of Virginia Beach, Virginia, where a busy vacation town on the U.S. East Coast is coming to grips with a terrible mass shooting. By the time police arrived and got to the scene, 12 people were already dead. Four others seriously wounded. This happened inside a city building, as workers were preparing to leave for the weekend. Police say a disgruntled long-time city worker entered the building at 4:00 in the afternoon local time and opened fire, armed with a semiautomatic handgun and extended magazines and a silencer. An employee described what happened.</s>ZAND BAKHTIARI, WITNESS: I was on the first floor. And my boss had just left. I heard screams in the parking lot. I assumed there was a car accident or something. Then he called his boss, who works right beside me and he told us that there was a gunman and we needed to shelter in place. And we locked our doors and I immediately texted my loved ones and maybe a couple minutes after that, I just heard rapid, rapid gunfire.</s>HOWELL: That gunman was identified as a 40-year-old engineer in the public utilities department. The police chief said officers engaged in a lengthy gun battle with the suspect and an officer was shot but saved by his bulletproof vest.</s>CHIEF JAMES CERVERA, VIRGINIA BEACH POLICE: I can tell you that it was a long gun battle between those four officers and that suspect. We've recovered a .45 caliber handgun with multiple extended magazines that were empty at the time. The suspect was reloading extended magazines in that handgun, firing at victims throughout the building and at our officers. I want you to know that, during this gun battle, basically the officers stopped this individual from creating more carnage in that building. When the suspect went down due to his injuries, our officers then immediately rendered first aid as they were removing him from the building to the waiting EMS personnel.</s>HOWELL: Shortly after that, the mayor and the governor both tried to comfort the grieving community.</s>BOBBY DYER, MAYOR, VIRGINIA BEACH: Once we get over the shock of it, you know, we're going to move forward as a city, as a community. We're going to be there for the families and, you know, don't forget, you know, the people that were victims of this tragic event, you know, they were family members, they were co-workers, they were a vital part of the community of Virginia Beach and they will not be forgotten.</s>RALPH NORTHAM, VIRGINIA GOVERNOR: Their families are facing painful loss and grief. They each leave a hole in a family, in their neighborhood, in this community and in our commonwealth. We mourn with their loved ones.</s>HOWELL: Of the people caught up in this, there were so many stories of people who did their best to survive. Shortly after the gunman was identified, the investigation immediately shifted to the gunman's home. Our Brian Todd was there.</s>BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here at the home of shooting suspect DeWayne Craddock. He lived in this attached home over my left shoulder, where the porch is illuminated. The police have been here all night, looking for different clues. This is going to be one of the key components of the investigation as they piece together parts of this investigation. And one of the key parts of that is to try to piece together a motive for the shooting that left at least 12 people dead at that municipal center in Virginia Beach. We know that the suspect, according to police, did come in with two guns --</s>TODD: -- a .45 caliber pistol, semi automatic with extended magazines and a silencer, plus a rifle. So he apparently came in ready to do battle with police and he did do battle, according to police. This was a long, drawn-out gun battle inside that municipal center. He went up to three floors and left victims on each floor and was engaged by police fairly quickly in a long gun battle, where they were able to stop him. One police officer shot and wounded but he was saved apparently, according to police, by his bulletproof vest. Again, a key component of what we don't quite know yet and what police are trying to learn more about is the motive. What set him off? Sources tell CNN that Craddock was a disgruntled employee of the Virginia Beach Public Works Department. But beyond that, at this moment, we don't know a lot and officers are here, FBI agents and others here, processing some evidence. This is going to be one of those key crime scenes where they are going to try to put all that together and hopefully learn more about the specific motive and whether he actually targeted people specifically in that building. Clearly these were coworkers, most of them, who he killed. But was he targeting people specifically in that building? We are told he fired indiscriminately. But again, specific motive and possible specific targets that he might have had, that's going to be pieced together in the hours and days ahead -- Brian Todd, CNN, Virginia Beach, Virginia.</s>HOWELL: Brian, thanks. Employees who were caught up in the shooting explained as best they could, the short amount of time this happened which felt like forever.</s>SHEILA COOK, WITNESS: We heard shooting. We heard shooting but we didn't think it was that close, that close, like in proximity of the building. So I just thank God that they were able to alert us in time because, if it had been 10 minutes more, we all would have been outside. So that's what I'm grateful for today.</s>HOWELL: Joining me now to talk more about this is CNN law enforcement analyst and former Washington, D.C., police chief, Charles Ramsey, joining via Skype. Good to have you, Charles.</s>CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's good to be here.</s>HOWELL: So a disgruntled worker entering the building and opening fire. We know the attacker used a handgun with a sound suppressor so, unlike other shootings, many people in his path, they didn't hear the sound of gunfire.</s>RAMSEY: Yes, that is unusual. You know, a lot of people think that a silencer totally muffles the sound. It doesn't. But it takes a minute to understand that was a handgun going off as opposed to the regular sound of a gunshot. So I imagine it was confusing for people there.</s>HOWELL: So, look, as a city worker, Charles, this attacker would have obviously had knowledge of the building. Could that have played a factor into how he moved from room to room, especially when police officers closed in on him?</s>RAMSEY: There's absolutely no question about that. He was a veteran worker. Been in the building God knows how many times. He had victims on all three floors. So he moved around and he moved around with ease. He had a .45 caliber semiautomatic with extended magazines. I don't think we are sure whether or not a rifle recovered belonged to him or not. But he clearly intended to kill as many people as possible. And because he knew the building, he knew where people would be gathered where you'd have clusters of building. He went in the building. Yes, he didn't waste any time. These things go down fairly quickly and the police response was very quick. And he was still able to kill 12 people. I mean, it is just terrible.</s>HOWELL: Charles, would that have given him an advantage? Again, when police cornered him and tracked him down, would that give him some advantage?</s>RAMSEY: Yes, there's no question about that. I mean, he knows the layout. When you get dispatched to a scene, whether it's a school or a factory or what have you, odds are you have probably not been in that building very often. Now this was a municipal building. Officers probably go in and out of the building. But it doesn't mean they really know the layout that well, especially beyond the first floor. So he would have an advantage, especially since it appears he planned this out to some extent. So he knew what he was doing. There's no question about that. He would have the advantage because he knows his actions. You are trying to figure it out and trying to locate him and trying to neutralize the situation.</s>HOWELL: You touched on this. As far as weapons, we understand a .45 caliber handgun was used; investigators found a rifle --</s>HOWELL: -- multiple magazines and extended magazines were used. What does this tell you about the gunman going into the situation?</s>RAMSEY: Well, he planned on an awful lot of carnage. I mean, the average .45 caliber semiautomatic -- or at least the one I had -- carried 14 rounds. With one in the chamber, that gives you 15. With the extended magazine, you can carry 30. It depends on the magazine itself. They come in different sizes. So he had multiple extended magazines. So he had a lot of ammunition. If he had not been taken down when he was, there's no doubt in my mind more people would have either been wounded or killed.</s>HOWELL: Charles, at this point, the motive is still unclear. It raises the question, were there warning signs? What can businesses, people do to identify risks like this as early as possible?</s>RAMSEY: Well, you know, one of the things that will be part of the investigation is to kind of backtrack everything, to find out what it was that made this individual disgruntled to a point to become violent. We have a lot of people disgruntled in the workplace but they necessarily don't go out and kill people. They're going to have to really dig deep. What I would say to people is this. If you have a person who is really being threatening -- and I don't know if this guy was threatening beforehand or not -- but certainly don't take it lightly. Report it. Pay attention to that sort of thing. And if it is serious enough, give police a call and at least have it looked at. But I don't know if this was an actionable type of situation or not. Did he behave in a way that would really allow law enforcement to take pro-active steps? We'll find all that out during the course of the investigation.</s>HOWELL: Charles Ramsey with perspective. Charles, thank you.</s>RAMSEY: Thank you.</s>HOWELL: The U.S. president us promising tariffs with Mexico but it's U.S. consumers who will feel the effects especially, when they go buy cars. Details on that ahead. Plus, another alleged shakeup in North Korea. the U.S. responds to reports that some of Kim Jong-un's top advisers were executed. Why it is so hard to find out all of the details.