Virginia Beach City Council establishes committee to plan permanent memorial for mass shooting

by: WAVY Web Staff

Posted: Dec 2, 2020 / 09:38 AM EST / Updated: Dec 2, 2020 / 09:38 AM EST

Building 2 at Virginia Beach’s municipal complex as it was adorned on the anniversary of the mass shooting, May 31, 2020 (Photo: Courtesy WAVY)

VIRGINIA BEACH (WAVY) — Virginia Beach City Council voted Tuesday to establish a committee to plan a permanent memorial to the city’s 2019 mass shooting.

The resolution to establish the May 31st Memorial Committee also authorized City Manager Patrick Duhaney to put out proposals to bring in two third-party consultants to help with the planning. $115,000 was set aside to pay for the consultants.

“Our commitment (is) to a special place of remembrance,” said Emily Labows, Director of Cultural Affairs for Virginia Beach. “To ensure the victims, survivors, and those who responded on 5/31. Will never be forgotten.”

On May 31, 2019, a city engineer shot and killed 12 people and seriously hurt four others before being killed by police at Building 2. Almost all victims were city employees.

To read more about the project, click here.