VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — An employee who works in the Virginia Beach Municipal Building where 11 people were killed Friday emotionally recalled hearing yelling and screaming in the moments after shots rang out.
Megan Banton, an administrative assistant, said she heard gunshots, called 911 and barricaded a door. She spoke with WAVY News 10’s Andy Fox. You can watch their conversation above.
“We tried to do everything we could to keep everybody safe,” she said. “We were all just terrified. It felt like it wasn’t real, like we were in a dream. You are just terrified because all you can hear is the gunshots.”
She texted her mom, telling her that there was an active shooter in the building and she and others were waiting for police. Banton works in an office of about 20 people that is part of the Public Works Department.
“Thank God my baby is OK,” Banton’s mother, Dana Showers, said.
Mayor Bobby Dyer called it “the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach.”
The shooting happened shortly after 4 p.m. when police say the veteran employee of the Public Utilities Department entered a building in the city’s Municipal Center. Police entered the building and got out as many employees as they could, then exchanged fire with the suspect, who was killed, the police chief said.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story)