In a tragic incident on Friday night, two Virginia Beach police officers were fatally shot during a routine traffic stop. The officers, identified as Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, had pulled over a vehicle with an expired license plate in the Green Run neighborhood around 11:30 p.m. This marked the first fatal shooting of a Virginia Beach police officer in over a decade.
The suspect, 42-year-old John McCoy III, was reportedly confrontational and uncooperative. Body camera footage revealed that McCoy exited his vehicle at the officers’ request, leading to a physical altercation. McCoy then allegedly drew a handgun from his pocket and fired at the officers.
According to Police Chief Paul Neudigate, the officers were shot again while they were on the ground, defenseless. The suspect then walked away from the scene calmly. Officer Reese was declared dead shortly after midnight, while Officer Girvin succumbed to his injuries at around 4:30 a.m.
The incident has left the police department and the community in mourning. Neudigate expressed his grief over the loss of two young officers with promising futures. The police later found McCoy dead in a nearby shed, apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No shots were fired by the officers during the incident.
This is the first fatal shooting of a Virginia Beach police officer since 2008, a fact that underscores the magnitude of the loss for the relatively young workforce of the department. Both Reese and Girvin had recently joined the force, in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
Jessica Girvin, the wife of Officer Girvin, shared a heartbreaking farewell to her husband on Facebook. The couple was expecting their first child, a girl, in August. The community has also expressed its sorrow over the loss of the two officers. Rep. Jen Kiggans, whose district includes Virginia Beach, mourned the loss of the two “heroic” officers.
The Virginia Beach Police Department is still investigating the incident, but they do not believe there is an active threat to the community.