Washington: A disgruntled employee went on a shooting rampage in a municipal centre building in the US state of Virginia, killing 12 people and injuring several others before dying in a gunbattle with the police.

The shooter was identified as DeWayne Craddock who worked as a certified professional engineer for the city of Virginia Beach in the Public Utilities Department. He fired indiscriminately through all three floors of Building 2 of the city's municipal centre on Friday, said Virginia Beach Police chief James A Cervera.