VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Over a year after 25-year-old Donovon Lynch was shot dead during a chaotic night at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront in March 2021, his family has met with the DOJ.
Sixteen months after a Virginia Beach police officer shot and killed his son, Wayne Lynch and other family members met in person with members of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
The family, including, Mr. Lynch, his daughter, and close family friends, hand-delivered a box containing a petition with nearly 3,500 signatures calling for the DOJ to investigate Donovon Lynch’s murder.
“Donovon was a father’s dream,” Mr. Lynch said. “He was smart, athletic, and an entrepreneur. We as a family just want an investigation into what really happened the night Donovon was killed.”
Just a year ago, on March 26, gunshots rang out at the Oceanfront just after 11 p.m. Eight people were shot and one died. On a nearby street, a Virginia Beach Police Officer shot and killed Lynch. Officer Solomon Simmons admitted to shooting Donovon Lynch twice, however, he failed to turn on his body camera.
In March, a federal judge ruled there’s enough evidence for the Lynch family to move forward with a $50 million-dollar civil lawsuit against Officer Solomon Simmons and the Virginia Beach Police Department.
That trial is scheduled for April 2023.
That same night of Lynch's death, 28-year-old Deshayla Harris, was shot and killed. Police said her death happened before the shooting of Lynch.
There are still no answers about who killed Harris.
