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Why the Shooting in Virginia Beach Sets an Ominous Precedent

| June 01, 2019

What ends lives? Gunfire.

What saves lives? The sound of gunfire.

The Virginia Beach shooting on Friday, when an employee of the city government killed 12 people — 11 of whom were his co-workers — is notable only for its familiarity. Another mass shooting. In fact, it was the worst mass-casualty event anyone can remember since … November 2018, at the Borderline Bar and Grill in Thousand Oaks, Calif.

But details of the rampage include one fact unique to the growing list of active-shooter cases: the assailant used a .45-caliber handgun with extended magazines and a barrel suppressor. This small detail — that the loaded gun was fitted with simple, and lawful, "silencing" equipment — threatens to upend how we understand and train for active-shooter cases in the future....

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For more information on this publication: Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation: Kayyem, Juliette.“Why the Shooting in Virginia Beach Sets an Ominous Precedent.” The Washington Post, June 1, 2019.

The Author

Juliette Kayyem Headshot

Juliette Kayyem

  • Member of the Board, Belfer Center
  • Belfer Senior Lecturer in International Security, Harvard Kennedy School
  • Faculty Director, Homeland Security Project
  • Faculty Affiliate, Middle East Initiative
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