Final plans unveiled for VB 5/31 memorial honoring mass shooting victims

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – Final plans for a memorial honoring the victims who died in a mass shooting in Virginia Beach more than five years ago were unveiled Thursday evening.

Twelve people were killed when a gunman opened fire in Building 2 of the Virginia Beach Municipal Complex on May 31, 2019.

In the days, weeks and months following the shooting, a committee was formed composed of family members, City Council members and other citizens. They were given the task of designing a memorial in honor of the victims.

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“It will be a beautiful monument. It will be noticed across the country,” said Jason Nixon, a committee member.

Nixon’s wife Kate was one of the victims.

The memorial includes a meditation garden, a hero tree honoring first responders and a path that wraps around an acoustic water fountain.

According to Clay Dills, the focus will be on the names of the twelve people who lost their lives. His Virginia Beach-based architectural firm designed the monument.

He said the project is sensitive.

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“We’ve been in town for 40 years now… so I’ve known these people forever,” he said.

There will be 150 canopy lights scattered throughout the memorial, representing the total number of years the victims served the city of Virginia Beach, Dill said.

During Thursday’s meeting in downtown Virginia Beach, Dills said a tentative agreement had been signed with a company to build the monument.

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He said the plans will now go before the Virginia Beach City Council, which will vote on them at its meeting Tuesday night. If everything goes as planned, construction will begin on May 31, 2026.

Jason Nixon hopes the monument catches the eye of all passersby – residents and visitors alike.

“When we forget history, it tends to repeat itself,” he said.