Editing DeWayne Craddock (section)

==Background==
Craddock worked as an engineer in the city's public utilities department and had a security pass to enter employee work spaces within the building. In the days prior to the shooting, he was involved in physical scuffles with fellow city employees and threatened with disciplinary action. A few hours before the shooting, he resigned from his position in an email he sent to city management. The city manager said that Craddock resigned "within good standing in his department" and that he "had no issues of discipline ongoing." He had no prior criminal violations with the exception of minor traffic violations.

Within the span of at least the last three years, Craddock began legally acquiring firearms. Two .45 ACP pistols were used in the shooting and two more weapons were found at Craddock's residence, one of which was another pistol of the .45 ACP caliber. The fourth weapon is still being checked by authorities.

Craddock graduated in 1996 from Denbigh High School in Newport News. Between 1996 and 2002, he served in the Virginia Army National Guard in Norfolk as a cannon crew member with the First Battalion, 111th Field Artillery Regiment. At the time of his discharge he held the rank of Specialist (E-4) and had not been deployed for combat service. In 2002, he graduated from Old Dominion University with a degree in civil engineering. Prior to joining the City of Viriginia Beach, he worked as a project engineer for MSA, P.C., a consulting firm.