VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Almost a month after the Virginia Beach mass shooting, city leaders are addressing the call for an open investigation.
Some council members are now joining the growing list of families asking for that investigation. They believe the public deserves as much transparency as possible in the road ahead.
During a workshop session on Tuesday, two resolutions were presented to the rest of council; one by Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten, the other by Vice Mayor Jim Wood.
Wooten's resolution calls for urgency and expediency. She said that the victims' families and citizens have waited long enough for answers. "I believe time is of the essence, and we should get started right away," she said.
Wood's would require "written assurance from law enforcement that such review will not interfere with the current law enforcement investigation of the tragedy."
"The main difference is certainly something I can't budge on, and that's the danger of impeding the police investigation," Vice Mayor Wood said.
On Tuesday, council members reviewed each document. Some of the main differences include when the investigation should start and who will be conducting it.
Faces of the Virginia Beach mass shooting
Wooten's resolution directs the city manager to hire an independent organization to avoid internal conflict. Wood's directs the city auditor to engage in an independent consultant to conduct a review of the tragedy.
"The bottom line is that the auditor has specific authority in the city code to compel the release of documents, data, files, everything," Wood told News 3.
There are similarities to the resolutions, and that's a clear timeline of what led to the shooting and the killer's personnel file.
Wooten's resolution states,
"The investigation should examine everything that led to the shooting, events during the shooting, and events that occurred after the Tragedy, including any report by the FBI, and it should focus on DeWayne Craddock's personnel file, promotion history, disciplinary records from all of his supervisors, and the culture of the work environment."
Wood's resolution states,
"The review should include creation of a timeline; a review of the perpetrator's employment history and workplace interactions; and a review of relevant City policies, procedures and practices, including without limitation, those related to facility security, prevention of workplace violence, and employee alerting and response to active shooter notifications."
Council didn't take any action towards the resolutions, but they said it's the first of many similar conversations.
For either of these resolutions to pass, it must be approved by the majority of city council members. If they are unable to come to an agreement on one, then it may be back to the drawing board.
Click here for our full coverage on the Virginia Beach mass shooting.
