VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — It was a horror no one ever wanted to see visit our community.
On May 31, 2019, a city worker opened fire in Building 2 at the municipal center. Forty-four minutes after the first shots were fired, 12 people were dead and five were wounded, including a police officer.
"What happened in Building 2, the aftermath of what happened, was the most challenging and stressful time for the department, for me personally and my family," retiring Virginia Beach Police Chief Jim Cervera told me, reflecting on what was his biggest challenge in his time as the city's top cop.
Chief Cervera had just stepped off of a plane at Norfolk International when he got the call about the shooting. He rushed to the municipal center, where his officers already were executing a plan to move forward along with EMS and the FBI.
"We had to work through the initial shock of what happened," Cervera said.
For days, the city and Chief Cervera were the focus of intense media scrutiny. Daily press briefings. The questions for the one-time Jersey cop perhaps never as tough than the late nights he spent at the make-shift memorial. With his own family at his side, Cervera listened and tried to understand the hurt people were feeling.
"The citizens wanted to know that we're going to be OK," Cervera said.
As for the investigation into the shooting, Cervera said his officers did more than a thousand interviews and ran with every tidbit of information. I asked him about a sense of distrust some of the families still have into the independent investigation and about the shooter's motive.
"You may never get to the why. They never found out in Las Vegas and that was a horrific situation. Sometimes you never get to the why," Cervera told me expressing confidence in the work his department has done.
There's a grit in the community that gives Cervera confidence that everything will be OK. On what likely will be his final word on the shooting as chief, Cervera said if there's a lesson from what happened is that we will never forget, nor take for granted how precious life is.
Cervera says he plans to stay in Virginia Beach and continue to serve the community. With his retirement beginning on May 1, he says he's ready to start "Chapter 2" of his life.