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State commission reports latest effort to find motives of Virginia Beach mass shooter

"I think our primary objective is to be honest and straightforward so that we can look the families in the eye and said we did the best we could," a member said.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A state commission is heading the latest effort to figure out why a Virginia Beach city employee killed 12 people in a mass shooting on May 31, 2019.

There are 20 members on this commission, appointed by Gov. Ralph Northam, the Speaker of the House, and a Senate committee. 

Friday, one member told 13News Now the group is just getting started.

"I think our primary objective is to be honest and straightforward so that we can look the families in the eye and said we did the best we could," David Cariens said.

Cariens is a retired CIA officer and is a member of the state commission. He said the group had their first meeting in June.

“It was the general ground rules of how we will proceed, then we were assigned to look at the three or four previous reports that have been done," he said.

So far the FBI, Virginia Beach Police Department, and Hillard Heintze (an independent firm) have investigated the mass shooting.

RELATED: 'This should be thrown in the garbage' | Families of Virginia Beach Municipal Center mass shooting victims react to final report

The state commission is working to provide a fresh set of eyes. 

"I’m very honored to be on this commission," he said. "I think this is work is extremely important."

He said after looking at previous reports, he's already found some red flags when it comes to the city’s security, human resources, and training.  

"They had a violence prevention program that was written in 2001 and never revised. I've read it; frankly, it's pablum," Cariens said.

He told 13News Now the commission is charged with coming up with some hard-hitting conclusions about what needs to change.

Their next meeting is later this month and is in person in Richmond.

Cariens said the group has to submit its final report to state leaders by October 2022.

"I hope that we can do something on this commission, even just a small step to help prevent these massacres," he said.

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