vest saved his life. two are in critical condition at this hour, one in fair condition, one patient in critical condition at the general hospital in norfolk. flags are flown half mast in virginia and across the country tonight in accordance with an order from president trump. here s what city officials had to say when they addressed reporters earlier today. outpouring of support at the vigils that will happen, come to the vigil, show up at the vigil, for our police officers, this is a horrific event, unbelievable proportions. police officers put themselves in harm s way every day for people they never met, people they have no connection to, and for people they ll never see again. emphasis on mourning and remembrance. joining us, kathy park, at virginia beach general hospital, and justice correspondent pete williams from washington, and jose diaz-balart is here as well. let me start with you, kathy. i mentioned victims at the hospital in virginia beach, the other hospital
virginia beach for cnn s special coverage of a deadly workplace shooting. it s an all too familiar scene here in virginia beach, 12 people murdered in the deadliest mass shooting in the united states this year. four other people are injured after police say a disgruntled employee started indiscriminately shooting at a city government building. and now once again a community is in mourning. this is a day that none of us thought we would ever live in. i think for all of us that are residents here, we all went to bed last night hoping we would wake up today and it s just a bad dream. but it s our reality. and these are the faces that matter. these are the faces at the center of heartbreak. 11 of these 12 were dedicated employees, murdered at their workplace. they have years and years of service to their community. one was a contractor coming in for a permit. we want you to see their faces and hear their names. laquita c. brown, she was a right-of-way agent and worked in publ
8:00 a.m. eastern. we will, of course, bring that to you live when it happens. but let s tell you now what we know at this moment. sources say the suspect was a disgruntled employee. he was killed in a shootout with police. they say a.45-caliber pistol was found with the shooter and high capacity magazines. the suspect started shooting on all three floors of that building. and officials say they found victims on all three floors. i want you to listen to this. i want you to hear from some witnesses who were inside the building when this man started shooting. but first, listen here to the police chief who spoke last night about the attack. ki 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. when my boss basically was li
a municipal building in virginia beach. 12 loved ones who won t be coming home to families tonight. think about that. 12 people losing their lives for absolutely no reason. a municipal building on a friday afternoon, shortly after 4:00 p.m., just as the workday was winding down. that building was full of city workers. as well as residents. taking care of just mundane errands. like paying their water bills. and so on. the gunman, a long-time public utilities worker, police say that they are not releasing his identity at this time. they still have to notify some family members of his. and also the people who have been killed. authorities say he was killed in the shootout with police. after he shot an officer who was saved by his but-proof vest. now, authorities have trying to figure out tonight what set him off. here s what sources are saying now. they say he was disgruntled. police say he entered the building and immediately started firing. indiscriminately, shooting anyone an
past their fallen colleagues. the mayor hailing those first responders. let me just say this. we will not be defined by this horror. we will go forward. we are a city of resiliency and resolve. the true character of our city is going to rest with our public, our citizens and our neighbors that we share borders with. there s one thing that is most evident that has come about. we in virginia beach are a city of heroes. we have heroes with our military, we have many members of our public that help and save lives, but most of all let me commend the officers, the people that ran into a building with an active shooter shooti shooting .45-caliber bullets and saved many people. without thdoubt or reservation, virginia beach is a city of heroes. erica hill leading our team coverage from virginia beach. erica, we are getting a new account of the gunman killed during the shootout with police following the rampage. what can you tell us? reporter: yes, we are learning bits and piece