The night before 12 people were killed in Virginia Beach on May 31, one victim, Kate Nixon, told her husband she wanted to carry a gun to work because she feared her would-be attacker, but decided against it because of the city’s no-gun policy, according to the family’s lawyer.

The next day, the shooter, who had worked as a city public utilities engineer for nine years, fired at his defenseless colleagues in the city’s Municipal Center.

“Kate expressed to her husband concerns about this individual in particular as well as one other person,” the Nixon family attorney, Kevin Martingayle, told host Cathy Lewis. “In fact, they had a discussion the night before about whether or not she should take a pistol and hide it in her handbag and decided not to, ultimately, because there is a policy, apparently, against having any kind of weapons that are concealed in these buildings.”

“But they were so concerned they had that conversation,” Lewis said.

“The night before it happened, they had that discussion,” Martingayle said. “So, there was obviously something big going on. I don’t know all the ins and outs of that and I don’t know that Kate ever expressed, even to her husband, the full range of what her concerns were.”

Jason Nixon, the victim’s husband, and his attorney have asked the city to release all records about the gunman. According to The New York Times, the shooter had been previously involved in physical “scuffles” at work, and disciplinary measures had been taken.

The city of Virginia Beach enforces a “gun-free zone” policy on all city properties, even if the employee is licensed to carry a concealed weapon. “Employees who violate this policy will be subject to discipline, up to and including dismissal,” the city policy states.

With everyone on site disarmed by this policy, the shooter had no opposition and was able to gun down defenseless victims until police were able to force their way into the building.