Virginia Police Officer Saved by Ballistic Vest in Response to Tragic Active Shooter Event

An officer with the Virginia Beach Police Department was struck by gunfire while responding to an active shooter event at a municipal building that left 11 innocents dead on Friday afternoon—the officer was reportedly saved by his ballistic armor. Six other people were wounded in the attack.

The gunman was also reportedly killed during a gunfight with responding officers.

According to NBC News , the shooting happened in the late afternoon, when a veteran employee of the Public Utilities Department entered a building in the city's Municipal Center, and "immediately began to indiscriminately fire upon all of the victims."

Virginia Beach Police Chief James Cervera said that responding officers quickly entered the building and extracted as many employees as they could before exchanging gunfire with the suspect.

As of Friday night, the identity of the gunman has not yet been released—nor was the motive of the attack.