Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
'Your Heart Hurts Every Time A New Tragedy Happens': Virginia Beach Gunman Kills 12 In Shooting Rampage
The New York Times: Virginia Beach Gunman Said He Was Quitting, Then Went On A Shooting Rampage
The resignation email arrived in the morning, and the gunfire started in the afternoon. DeWayne Craddock, an engineer who had worked for the City of Virginia Beach for about 15 years, notified his superiors on Friday that he intended to quit. Then at around 4 p.m., he embarked on a rampage in Building No. 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center, turning its offices and corridors into a battleground. When it was over, 12 people lay dead and Mr. Craddock was fatally wounded. (Thrush and Blinder, 6/2)
The Washington Post: Virginia Shooting Gunman De Wayne Craddock Resigned Hours Before Mass Shooting, Officials Say
Investigators, Craddock’s former co-workers and residents of this stricken oceanside community on Sunday continued to grasp for clues to what precipitated the deadliest mass shooting in the United States since November. Armed with two .45-caliber pistols, at least one of them equipped with a sound suppressor and extended magazine, Craddock killed 12 people before dying in a gun battle with police. (Miller, Jamison and Weiner, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Virginia Beach Shooting Suspect Had Just Resigned
Mr. Hansen said the suspect sent an email to his supervisors on Friday morning to say he was resigning from the public utilities department, where he had worked as an engineer for about 15 years. “To my knowledge, the perpetrator’s performance was satisfactory, and he was in good standing within his department and there were no issues of discipline ongoing,” Mr. Hansen said. (Vielkind, 6/2)
The Washington Post: Virginia Beach Shooting Victims: Eleven Were City Employees, And One Was A Contractor
One victim worked for the Virginia Beach municipal government for 41 years. Another, for just 11 months. A third was a contractor who was filing a permit at the worst time possible. And one died checking to make sure his co-workers were safe. Most of the 12 people killed Friday by the gunman — himself a longtime municipal employee — had the kind of job titles common for government servants. They were engineers, right of way agents, account clerks or administrative assistants. (6/1)
The Wall Street Journal: Virginia Beach Grieves Deaths Of 12 Shooting Victims
A grieving Virginia Beach, Va., woke up Saturday to learn the names of the 12 people gunned down by a longtime city employee who authorities say turned a municipal building into a sea of carnage. Eleven of the victims were city employees, with tenures ranging from 11 months to more than 40 years. Many worked in the Public Utilities Department, the same department where suspected shooter DeWayne Craddock had worked as an engineer for about 15 years, according to police. (Calvert, 6/1)
The Washington Post: In January, Virginia GOP Killed Bill To Ban Sales Of Large-Capacity Magazines
A Virginia bill designed to ban sales of large-capacity magazines similar to those used by the Virginia Beach gunman died in committee in January on a party-line vote. The fate of the legislation, SB1748, was so widely expected that the outcome drew virtually no public attention. For more than 20 years, Republicans and a few rural Democrats in the General Assembly have killed almost every measure aimed at restricting gun ownership. The GOP blocked a major push for gun control after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, where 33 people died. They chose instead to respond to that shooting by joining Democrats to enact mental-health reforms. (McCartney, 6/1)
Politico: Michael Bennet After Shooting: McConnell Must Act
Following a deadly shooting in Virginia Beach, Sen. Michael Bennet renewed calls for national background checks — but expressed doubt Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would allow such legislation to go anywhere in the Senate. "We should pass those background checks," the Colorado Democrat said on ABC‘s “This Week” on Sunday. "Ninety percent of the American people support it. But we know what's going to happen, which is the House has passed it, Mitch McConnell will not allow it to come to a vote in the Senate, and we will not have national background checks." (Choi, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Government Buildings Prepare, Practice For Shootings
In Washington, D.C., the city is rolling out a panic-button mobile app, which will enable nearly all of the 35,000 employees of the District of Columbia government to contact law enforcement with the tap of a button. At Boston’s City Hall, a system that detects gunfire is embedded in the walls and ceilings. Government buildings in Rhode Island and Georgia use the same system. (Cutter and Lovett, 6/2)
The Wall Street Journal: Active Shootings In The U.S.
Active-shooter incidents around the U.S. fell slightly last year, but they remained at the second highest level since 2000, according to new data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Deadly incidents in 2018 included the shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school, the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Borderline Bar and Grill shooting in Thousand Oaks, Calif. In total, there were 27 incidents around the country last year, leaving 85 people dead and 128 wounded. That compares with 30 shootings in 2017, the deadliest year in the FBI’s records. (Wang, 6/12)
The Associated Press: Mass Shootings Transform How America Talks, Prays, Prepares
Pardeep Singh Kaleka has surveyed the landscape of an America scarred by mass shootings. Seven years ago, a white supremacist invaded a Sikh temple in Wisconsin and killed six worshippers — among them Kaleka's father, who died clutching a butter knife he'd grabbed in a desperate attempt to stop the shooter. Now, whenever another gunman bloodies another town, Kaleka posts a supportive message on social media. Then later, either by invitation or on his own initiative, he'll journey to the community to shore up others who share his pain. (Cohen and Tanner, 6/2)
And in other news on gun violence —
The Washington Post: Dick's Sporting Goods CEO Took A Stand On Gun Control, Even Though It Hurt The Company
It had been one month since 17 people were killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, and the grief in the room was palpable. Facing one another were the parents whose children died in the massacre and the head of a sporting goods store who had come to Parkland, Fla., after his company sold the shooter a shotgun. Ed Stack, the chief executive and chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods, had made the rounds through talk shows and news networks, announcing that his company would stop selling assault-style weapons and take other steps to limit firearms sales. The backlash was swift from gun-toting customers, pro-gun lawmakers and the National Rifle Association. (Siegel, 5/31)
The Associated Press: Kids Have Long Road To Heal After Oklahoma Police Shooting
Asia Jacobs, affectionately known as "Mama's little helper," struggles to fill that role since police officers opened fire on her mother's pickup truck outside an Oklahoma food bank and wounded the girl and two of her siblings. A bullet pierced the left frontal lobe of 4-year-old Asia's brain. She no longer helps her mother keep her younger brother and sister in line because she has a hard time sitting still herself. The shooting has left her anxious. Doctor visits and seizure medicine fill her days — a life upended through no fault of her own. (Kealoha Causey and Bleiberg, 6/2)
