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“We asked them to go out in these communities and keep us safe from evil, and evil found them,” Police Chief Neudigate said of a shooting that left 2 officers dead.
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A shooting late Friday night resulted in the death of two Virginia Beach police officers, according to the department.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate and Mayor Bobby Dyer held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Saturday to update the community on the incident, the tragic loss of life and the ongoing investigation.
Neudigate said the “two heroes that went to work last night and didn’t make it home, two heroes that paid the ultimate price” were Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reese. Girvin had been with the police department since 2020, and Reese since 2022. Reese was also with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office prior.
According to Neudigate, the officers saw a blue Hyundai Sonata with an expired plate and tried to conduct a traffic stop on South Rosemont Road shortly before 11:30 p.m.
The officers followed the car to a dead end. When they approached the vehicle, the driver became “immediately argumentative,” Neudigate said, and refused to get out. Police say that when the driver, later identified as 42-year-old John McCoy III, finally exited the car, he pulled out a gun and shot both of the officers twice before calmly walking away.
“While on the ground, defenseless, he shot them each a second time,” Neudigate said.
Despite valiant efforts from medical personnel, both officers were pronounced dead, surrounded by family, friends and fellow officers, at local hospitals in the early morning hours Saturday.
Suspect found in shed
Neudigate said officers immediately swarmed the area, searching for the suspect. McCoy was located in a shed behind the apartment complex on Sylvan Lane, near where he lived, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at 12:12 a.m.
“I can say our preliminary investigation at this point in time leads us to believe this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Neudigate said. “At no time did any of our officers fire shots.”
Responding to a question about whether the investigation has revealed any motivation for the killings, Neudigate said McCoy had one felony conviction from 2009. “A felon with a firearm would be a new felony charge,” but Neudigate questioned whether that would be enough to make him kill two officers.
Another person was in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop, but Neudigate said no charges are anticipated.
Chief honors deceased officers, promises support
Neudigate said Girvin and Reese had “stellar reputations in our department and a work ethic beyond reproach.” He lamented the senseless act against the young officers with futures ahead of them.
“We asked them to go out in these communities and keep us safe from evil, and evil found them. To the families of our fallen, we stand with you, we grieve with you, and we vow we will never forget the sacrifices of Cameron and Chris.”
Neudigate added that the VBPD has a “very young workforce,” and the vast majority have never experienced the loss of one of their own. The department’s last line-of-duty shooting death was in 2008.
“We’re very concerned for them,” Neudigate said, adding that officers have been doubled up in vehicles to allow them to process with colleagues and add a “semblance of safety.”
The community reacts
Community members who live near the scene of the shooting incident told 13News Now they saw police lights and heard sirens in the early morning hours, but did not expect Saturday morning’s news.
“It’s heartbreaking. I’m still in shock over the whole thing,” Micka Carden said. She told said she heard a gunshot late Friday night. Carden also said she saw first responders at the scene hours after the incident, well into Saturday.
“They have not left,” Carden said. “Officers came and went. Fire trucks were sitting here at like 3, 4 in the morning, but just officers coming and going, coming and going.”
“There’s videos all over Facebook, Twitter, everywhere of crazy [things]. Something that starts off so small to become so humongous. It’s all over the world,” said another neighbor who declined to show their face.
Carden, who said her son is a police officer, said she’s still processing the news.
“We’re really sorry that this happened, and we pray that God’s peace will come upon them and their families.”
