VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The 5/31 committee and architects met to discuss the 5/31 memorial, which will honor the 12 people shot and killed at a Virginia Beach municipal building in 2019.
The memorial is a project years in the making, scheduled to be completed and open to the public in May 2026.
News 3 spoke to one of the victims' family members, who said they're happy with the progress on the memorial being built.
Watch previous coverage: Final plans unveiled for VB 5/31 memorial to honor mass shooting victims
"I think it’s a wonderful, beautiful site that’s really going to represent my brother and all the others," Ervin Cox, brother of Ryan Keith Cox, said.
Keith Cox worked for the city's public utilities department, saving several coworkers during the mass shooting. Ervin says there’s not a day that goes by when he doesn’t think about his brother and his bravery.
"He went out and protected those women, got them put away in the office, and then stood by the door," Ervin said. "My brother, Ryan Keith Cox, he was always protective. He protected me when we grew up. He was the younger brother, but you would have thought he was the oldest."
Watch previous coverage: Virginia Beach committee to get update on 5/31 Memorial to mass shooting victims
The 5/31 memorial committee met with an architect who showed renderings of the project.
The outdoor memorial will feature messages of hope and the names of the lives lost on May 31, 2019, listed throughout the memorial.
City Councilman Michael Berlucchi hopes the memorial will be a place of remembrance for the tragic day.
"It was a horrible day, an unimaginable day. I think about surviving family members and those who lost loved ones," Berlucchi said.
