Another Virginia Beach 5/31 Mass Shooting Commission member resigns, citing 'half-truths and excuses'

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The commission tasked to independently investigate the 2019 mass shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center has lost another member, documents obtained by 13News Now show.

David Cariens wrote a letter of resignation — addressed to Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and sent to Attorney General Jason Miyares — detailing his reasons for this decision, including a belief that the Virginia Beach 5/31 Mass Shooting Commission "appears to have been set up to fail from the outset."

In a "Minority Investigation Findings" report, he cited "numerous obstacles to our work," and alleges the Virginia Beach city government is engaging in what he calls "a campaign of obstructionism" that allegedly includes "withholding documents." 

"I cannot be part of a Commission that engages in duplicity, half-truths, and excuses for the city and its elected officials and employees," his resignation letter reads.

He also expressed his disappointment with some of his fellow commission members. 

"The behavior of some on the Commission was juvenile. When they had no answers for questions raised, or apparently wanted to protect the City of Virginia Beach, they engaged in inuendoes discrediting the objectivity of other Commission members. The chairman did nothing to stop this," wrote Cariens.

In late December, 13News Now reported on Cariens' frustrations with the lack of work output by the group, primarily over high departure numbers and lack of attendance at commission meetings. The originally 21-member group has gone down to 11, which prevented the body from voting or adopting measures, Cariens previously said. 

Miyares, who previously served as a state delegate representing a section of Virginia Beach, penned a letter to the commission shortly after the reported departures, saying, “I have been incredibly disappointed in the way the Commission has conducted their investigation and review thus far.” 

"...treat your task with the seriousness and respect that it deserves. The families that have lost loved ones should expect nothing less," he added.

"The people of Virginia, particularly all those impacted by gun violence, expected a thorough investigation of the Virginia Beach massacre. They did not get it," Cariens wrote.