A service of Salisbury University and University of Maryland Eastern Shore

SWAT Team Exercise Evokes Memories of Virginia Beach Mass Shooting

DeWayne Craddock

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A Virginia Beach SWAT team conducted a training exercise in the same building where 12 people were shot and killed in a mass shooting.

The Virginian-Pilot reports officers appeared in tactical gear and carried rifles on Wednesday to train with at least one K-9 unit as a small number of information technology workers were inside the building, evoking memories of the shooting on May 31.

That’s when a longtime city engineer shot 16 people before police responded to the attack and killed the gunman. Capt. John Thomas “J.T.” Orr emailed IT staff to apologize.

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email
Don Rush is the News Director and Senior Producer of News and Public Affairs at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.