Family of VB mass shooting victim reacts to budget amendment that would have given financial relief

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — There is frustration growing over a pitch to help survivors of mass violence in Virginia. 

On Monday, lawmakers were set to discuss a $10 million fund to help pay for bills not covered by insurance, it appears that the budget amendment for the Mass Violence Care Fund did not make it into either the House or Senate budget bills to be considered. 

The latest developments have people connected to the Virginia Beach mass shooting furious. People like Jason Nixon whose wife, Kate, was one of the victims. 

“They hit us from both ends,” says Nixon. “They hit us on the Virginia Mass Violence Care Fund and the state investigation into the tragedy all at one time, and for no reason. It shows no sense of humanity.” 

The Virginia Mass Violence Care Fund with $10 million dollars in seed money would reimburse qualifying victims and family members out-of-pocket expenses that insurance does not cover. 

Nixon, remembering his wife Kate, is livid over what he calls “dirty politics at its best.”

“It is beyond a bi-partisan bill. It is a commonsense bill. Who’s going to take care of my kids when they have weddings and graduations, and they need counseling because they are missing their mom?”  

The House and Senate money committees also stopped funding the commission on the May 31 Virginia Beach mass shooting.

Jason and Kate has three daughters. One of their daughters, 9-year-old Madilyn remembers and cherishes her mother waking her up. 

“She woke me up early in the morning and we would pray and then I’d get ready with her,” says Madilyn.

When asked how much she loves her mom, “I love her this much,” she said with outstretched arms. 

Nixon blames Virginia Beach Delegate Barry Knight (R) for the defeat of the budget amendments in the House, 

“He is chairman of that committee…I blame him 100%” 

Delegate Knight told 10 On Your Side that “no one came to talk to him about the amendments.”

“I didn’t want to set a precedent,” says Knight without defining what that is.  He also told 10 On Your Side he had “more budget amendments than ever before.” 

“What harm would it be to take $10 million from the criminal justice department, and put it in a money market account that is going to make $400–500,000 dollars the first-year flow of cash flow?” says Nixon in response. 

The budget amendments were submitted in the Senate by Senator Chap Petersen who stated that there is support in the Senate.

“We may need to negotiate that a bit, but the trick is to get the fund started and start growing it from there,” Senator Petersen added. 

Nixon and other supporters are hoping for a miracle that somewhere in the discussion those budget amendments are put back in the budget. 

Correction: The original version of this report contained a quote with a claim about the shooter’s motive on May 31, 2019. Officials have not released a motive for the mass shooting.