The night before Kate Nixon and 11 others were murdered by a disgruntled co-worker, the decade-long Virginia Beach city employee talked with her husband about bringing a gun to work for self-defense -- a decision that was taken out of her hands by the city's ban on employees carrying firearms at work, a Nixon family lawyer said.
Now, Nixon's family is calling for an independent investigation into events leading up to the May 31 shooting and what could have been done differently before and during it, particularly given the explicit concerns about shooter DeWayne Craddock.
“Kate expressed to her husband concerns about this individual in particular, as well as one other person,†Nixon family attorney Kevin Martingayle told WHRV's "HearSay with Cathy Lewis" radio show Monday. “In fact, they had a discussion the night before about whether or not she should take a pistol and hide it in her handbag -- and decided not to, ultimately, because there's a policy apparently against having any kind of weapons that are concealed in the building."
The city of Virginia Beach prohibits employees from carrying "any weapon" while working or on city property, unless authorized by a supervisor. The city policy notes: "The prohibition against possession of a weapon applies even if a member has a permit to carry a concealed weapon."
An employee violating the policy would not be in violation of the law -- but they would be breaking rules set by their place of employment. "Employees who violate this policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal," the city policy states.
Julie Hill, Director of the Communications Office at Virginia Beach, said some on the City Council were considering making it illegal rather than just a policy violation if employees carried a gun at work. In Virginia, however, cities aren't allowed to make it illegal for licensed permit holders to carry, so the City Council would merely be considering recommending the state allow them to impose legal penalties on such employees.
"There is an item on next week’s City Council meeting for the Council to discuss a resolution to support a bill to allow localities to prohibit the carrying of firearms in governmental buildings," Hill told FoxNews.com. She also pointed to a statement the city released about the shooting.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/gun-free-zone-law-disarmed-virginia-beach-shooting-victim-attorney-says
