Nearly one week after DeWayne Craddock’s shooting rampage, which left 12 people including himself dead at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Virginia, his letter of resignation has been made public. The 40-year-old sent the letter to his supervisor the morning before the incident.
The letter does not reveal any information about Craddock’s motives behind the shooting, as reported by Daily Mail. In it, he merely confirmed that he would be leaving his position in two weeks time. His last day, he wrote, would be June 14. Craddock had been working in this position for 15 years.
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“I want to officially put in my [2] weeks’ notice to vacant my position of Engineer III with the City of Virginia Beach,” Craddock wrote. “It has been a pleasure to serve the City, but due to personal reasons I must relieve my position.”
An unidentified person responded to Craddock’s email, stating that they hoped he would be able to resolve his personal issues. The person also confirmed when Craddock’s last day would be.
“Thank you. Yes, that is correct,” he replied.
Daily Mail reported that the email was sent on the morning of the shooting. Later that day, according to local police, Craddock went to different floors in the Virginia Beach Municipal Center and shot at his co-workers. He killed 11 people, including a building contractor he encountered in a parking lot outside, with two .45-caliber pistols.
Craddock died in a shoot out with police. He was taken to a local hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Investigators said it does not appear Craddock left notes, manifestos or clues on social media sites as to why he carried out the shooting. There are also no indications he was unhappy at work, or harboring ill will toward any of his co-workers.
City Manager Dave Hansen previously said that Craddock was “in good standing” and his work was “satisfactory.” Police Chief James Cervera said investigators are using keycard data to retrace Craddock’s steps leading up to the shooting. They are hopeful this will bring them closer to understanding his motives. They are also looking into aspects of his personal and professional life for answers.
“Right now we do not have anything glaring,” Cervera said. “There’s nothing that hits your right between the eyes. But we are working on it.”
As previously reported, officials said there was no indication Craddock targeted specific employees. Immediately after the shooting, Cervera said the gunman fired “indiscriminately” at his victims.
Craddock had no record of previous trouble with the law. He purchased both weapons legally before the shooting in 2016 and 2018, Ashan Benedict, regional special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said. Cervera added that at least one of the guns had a silencer on it.
