NORFOLK, Va. — The FBI said Thursday that the person accused of walking into the Social Security Administration office in Norfolk on Feb. 8 and opening fire is facing federal charges.
Norfolk police arrested 44-year-old William D. Rankin of Chesapeake the day of the shooting on Lake Herbert Drive in Lake Taylor.
According to court documents filed by an FBI agent, Rankin went to the office with a rifle, a pistol, and 600 rounds of ammunition.
A security guard told Rankin the building was closed because of COVID-19. At that point, Rankin supposedly told the guard he wouldn't leave without collecting money for his mother.
The guard directed Rankin to the phone number to call for help getting Social Security payments. The agent said that's when Rankin pulled out his .380 pistol.
The agent stated in his affidavit that Rankin demanded the guard put his gun on the ground, then fired five close-range shots at the guard, hitting him in the arm, shoulder, legs, chest, abdomen. Some of these shots were deflected by a bulletproof vest.
The guard shot Rankin as he headed for the front door, and Rankin stopped because of his injuries.
The affidavit says the injured guard took the elevator to the second floor, where he asked people to dial 911, and then went back down to watch Rankin.
Rankin's wife later told investigators that for months, he had been trying to get Social Security benefits for his mother over the phone.
Here are the charges against Rankin:
- Attempted murder of a person assisting an officer or employee of the U.S. Government
- Possession and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence
- Assault of a person assisting an officer or employee of the US Government
- Possession of firearms in a federal facility
- Felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
Sixty-eight federal employees and 72 Virginia state employees work in the office where the shooting took place, in space leased by the federal government.
Most employees were not working from the office that day, because of the pandemic.