At Virginia Beach mass shooting commission hearing, a shocking accusation and ‘a breath of fresh air’

Matthew Gayle said his sister clung to a photo of their mother as they waited to learn if she was alive after the May 31, 2019, mass shooting in Virginia Beach.

An officer approached, he said, and asked her if that was her mom.

“He said, ‘She looks much nicer in that picture than she did when I saw her,’” Gayle said. “That’s how we were told (she was killed).”

Gayle is among a handful of survivors and victims’ family members who spoke Wednesday in Richmond before a state commission investigating the shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. The group, who also met privately with Attorney General Jason Miyares, claims the city has mistreated families and failed to provide support or information — allegations the city refutes.

The families urged the commission to work with a sense of urgency.

“You are our last hope,” said Sonja Snelling, whose husband, Bert, was killed. “We might never get all the answers, but we deserve a few more answers than what we’ve gotten.”

A city employee fatally shot 12 people before he was killed by police. In the aftermath, Snelling said she struggled to get basic information about her husband’s death from the city.

Meanwhile, Gayle told the commission he went to the VB Strong Center while he was “in crisis” and was instructed to seek help elsewhere.

He said the center, which had briefly reimbursed him for counseling services, later cut off financial support as the one-year anniversary approached.

“Nobody who has faced the devastation we have faced should have to look in the bank account and ask if there’s enough money (for care),” Gayle said.

Earlier this week, some of the victims’ families also spoke out at a news conference in Virginia Beach. In response, the city issued a news release Tuesday stating it has worked to be transparent and support city employees as well as the victims’ families.

“Every victim’s family was offered individual meetings with our Police Department to review and discuss investigative findings,” the release states. “The City established a dedicated office and staff resources committed to long-term recovery efforts for those impacted and our workforce.”

It further stated the city provided a combined $1.5 million in workers compensation benefits to the estates of the 11 city employees who were killed and a combined $5.3 million to the six employees who were injured in the shooting.

The Virginia Beach Police Department did not respond to requests for comment regarding some of the statements made at the meeting.

Jason Nixon, the husband of a victim, and Ned Carlstrom, who survived the shooting, are regulars at commission meetings and were grateful to have other voices Wednesday.

“They’ve heard my story and they’ve heard Jason’s story over and over, so I think it really helped for other families to be there today,” said Carlstrom.

During their meeting with Miyares, Carlstrom and Nixon — whose wife, Kate, was killed — said the attorney general asked them to share concerns they have about the city or commission.

In a statement to The Virginian-Pilot, Miyares spokesperson Victoria LaCivita said the attorney general is “committed to helping them in their journey toward closure and healing.”

Miyares and Del. Kelly Convirs-Fowler pushed to create the commission in the shooting’s aftermath due to concerns from some survivors that the city’s investigation was not independent enough to be effective. The commission is tasked with investigating the shooting and the city’s response.

Nixon has long criticized the city, and at times the commission, for failing to conduct a transparent and thorough investigation. But he said the last couple of weeks have felt like a “breath of fresh air.”

More families are speaking out, the commission is receiving increased media attention, and former Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax recently began representing some of the families, Nixon said.

“I feel like we are being taken seriously now,” he said.

Katie King, katie.king@virginiamedia.com