One was a man who’d worked with Virginia Beach’s public utilities department for 41 years. Another was a contractor who was just in the building to file for a permit.
Officials released the names Saturday of 12 people who were killed in Friday afternoon’s shooting at Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.
All but one were employees of the city of Virginia Beach, City Manager Dave Hansen said.
A day after the shooting, Brent Werlein, an engineer at the City of Virginia Beach, shared a post about the colleagues he lost.
Werlein said that he would have been there but had to leave to pick up his son from school because his day care was closed that day.
After describing his relationships with some of his colleagues Werlein said, “They will be missed.”
Live updates: Virginia Beach mourns mass shooting
The 12 slain were:
Laquita C. Brown
The Chesapeake resident was a right-of-way agent who worked 4½ years for Virginia Beach’s public works department.
Tara Welch Gallagher
The Virginia Beach resident was an engineer who worked six years for the city’s public works department.
Mary Louise Crustinger Gayle
The 65-year-old Virginia Beach resident was a right-of-way agent who worked 24 years for the city’s public works department.
She earned her Bachelors degree and a Masters degree while employed by the city, her family said in a statement. She was slated to be honored for her work by the International Right of Way Association at a ceremony that was to be held two weeks after she died.
A doting Mother and “grammy,” she loved snuggling her “grandbabies” and pug and spending time with family and friends. She was the coordinator of her high school class reunions.
She was a devout Roman Catholic who taught catechism classes for many years at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church. She participated in a bunko group and enjoyed craft projects. For more than 30 years, she made gingerbread houses for each household in her extended family every Christmas season.
Alexander Mikhail Gusev
The Virginia Beach resident was a right-of-way agent who worked nine years for the city’s public works department.
Katherine A. Nixon
