VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Police Department is asking Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler (D-Virginia District 21) to hand over a laptop that she claims belonged to the 2019 Municipal Center mass shooter. Fowler's office emailed a statement about the laptop on Monday.
The police department addressed the allegation on Tuesday.
Spokeswoman Jody Saunders said the department searched his home right after the shooting on May 31, 2019, and picked up weapons, ammunition, documents, tablets, thumb drives, cameras, SD cards, and two cell phones as evidence.
"No laptop was recovered from the residence at the time the search warrant was executed, nor has the VBPD been made aware of such laptop over the past three and a half years since the tragic incident," she said.
On May 31, 2019, a city employee at the municipal center opened fire in Building 2, killing 12 people and then himself. Despite numerous investigations, neither the City of Virginia Beach nor the FBI has a concrete cause for his violence, yet.
The FBI also worked on this case, and never found a laptop. Neither agency has evidence that he owned one, at all.
"It's worrisome that it was missed," said Fowler.
In an interview with 13News Now Monday evening, Fowler said a deed transferred ownership of the gunman's condominium to the estate of one of the shooting victims. While cleaning it out to be sold, the sister of one of the shooting victims and a former city employee supposedly found a hard drive, disks and a laptop.
The former city employee, who in an e-mail voiced distrust with city officials, decided to give the electronics to Fowler.
"This could be nothing. It could be something, but it appears to be something that could be relevant. Whether it was missed by dereliction of duty or on purpose, I cannot comment on because I do not know. But what we don't want is for that to happen again," Fowler said.
Browsing through the laptop, Fowler alleged there are pictures of the shooter and at least one expense report document dated May 7, 2019.
"His name's on the login. I mean, sure, it hasn't been authenticated with his fingerprints or anything, but it would appear and I'm 90% sure that it's his laptop," said Fowler, who also expressed desire for a third-party analyst to look at the laptop.
The police department on Tuesday reached out to Fowler's office to ask that she let them analyze the laptop. They want to see if it belonged to the gunman and if so, if it has any relevant information about the 2019 shooting.
"The last thing I want to do and I will do is give it, unless I am forced to by law, give it to those that missed it for whatever reason," said Fowler on Monday.