AP

Lawmaker: Laptop of 2019 mass shooter is found

Jan 3, 2023, 1:24 AM | Updated: 3:35 pm

FILE - A law enforcement official stands at an entrance to a municipal building that was the scene ...

FILE - A law enforcement official stands at an entrance to a municipal building that was the scene of a shooting in Virginia Beach, Va., on June 1, 2019. Virginia Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler said Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, that a personal laptop belonging to the man who committed the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach has been found. Virginia Beach police are asking her to turn over the computer so they can “determine the device’s authenticity and relevance” to the killings. The shooter was killed by police in 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

(AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)


              FILE - A girl leaves flowers at a makeshift memorial at the edge of a police cordon in front of a municipal building that was the scene of a shooting in Virginia Beach, Va., on June 1, 2019. Virginia Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler said Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, that a personal laptop belonging to the man who committed the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach has been found. Virginia Beach police are asking her to turn over the computer so they can “determine the device’s authenticity and relevance” to the killings. The shooter was killed by police in 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
            
              FILE - A law enforcement official stands at an entrance to a municipal building that was the scene of a shooting in Virginia Beach, Va., on June 1, 2019. Virginia Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler said Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, that a personal laptop belonging to the man who committed the 2019 mass shooting in Virginia Beach has been found. Virginia Beach police are asking her to turn over the computer so they can “determine the device’s authenticity and relevance” to the killings. The shooter was killed by police in 2019. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — In the three-plus years since a city engineer killed 12 people at a Virginia Beach municipal building, investigators say they never recovered a personal computer that belonged to him and could possibly shed light on his motives.

But this week, a state lawmaker said in a statement that she was given a laptop found recently at the home of DeWayne Craddock, whom police killed during the 2019 rampage, as his condo was prepared for sale.

Virginia Beach police said in a statement Tuesday that they asked Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler to turn over the computer so they can “determine the device’s authenticity and relevance” to the killings.

The potential existence of such a laptop adds yet another wrinkle to the mass shooting case, which is far from settled for at least some of the victims’ families.

Jason Nixon, whose wife, Kate Nixon, was killed, has demanded accountability for what he and others allege was a failure by Craddock’s supervisors to recognize warning signs in a toxic workplace. Nixon told The Associated Press in 2021 that the shooter was having trouble at work and lost out on a promotion.

Debbie Borato, sister of victim Missy Langer, told the AP in 2020 that Langer was harassed and bullied and there was an office culture “that pushed that man over the edge.”

The FBI said last year that the shooting “was motivated by perceived workplace grievances.” But the agency also cautioned that no person or group was in a position to “see the confluence of behaviors that may have forewarned the attack.”

Virginia Beach police have said that they could not determine a motive, with the city’s final investigative report concluding in 2021 that “we may never know why he committed this heinous act.”

Convirs-Fowler released an email Monday that she received from Beth Mann, who had made the state lawmaker aware of the laptop. Mann said she learned of its existence while helping Borato prepare Craddock’s condo for sale.

The Virginian-Pilot newspaper reported that Borato obtained Craddock’s condo after winning a $2 million judgment against his estate.

Convirs-Fowler, a Democrat, raised questions Monday about “who searched the shooter’s residence” and said the “public and the families deserve a proper investigation.”

Virginia Beach police said Tuesday that they and the FBI never recovered a personal laptop.

“The search yielded numerous pieces of evidence, all of which were documented and collected, to include various weapons, ammunition, documents, tablets, thumb drives, cameras, SD cards, and two cell phones. No laptop was recovered,” the police department said in a statement.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

7 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

7 days ago

Lawmaker: Laptop of 2019 mass shooter is found