The FBI is assisting local police in conducting the investigation, he added.

Eleven of the 12 deaths in Friday's shooting were employees of the city, Hansen said. The other was a contractor seeking a permit.

"I have worked with most of them for many years," he said. "They leave a void that we will never be able to fill."

Vigils in memory of the victims were planned for Saturday evening.

Four people, including a police officer, were also injured in the melee that broke out Friday afternoon in the popular Virginia resort city with an estimated population of some 450,000, which is about 300 kilometers south of Washington, D.C.

The shooting occurred in Building No. 2 of the sprawling Virginia Beach Municipal Center, which includes several city facilities, including the police department.

Building No. 2 houses offices for planning and public works and is adjacent to city hall.

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted Saturday that he has spoken to state and city officials to offer condolences to the community.

The Virginia Beach shooting was the worst mass shooting in the United States since November 2018, when a dozen people were killed at a California bar.

"This is the most devastating day in the history of Virginia Beach," Mayor Bobby Dyer said on Friday. "The people involved are our friends, coworkers, neighbors and colleagues."

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