NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A response to an armed bank robbery in Newport News late Saturday morning led to police officers shooting and killing a suspect.
Police said the alleged armed robbery happened around 11:50 a.m. at a Navy Federal Credit Union in the 12000 block of Jefferson Avenue.
Newport News Police Chief Steve Drew, in a press conference Saturday evening, said a man entered the credit union, showed a firearm, and demanded money.
He then left the bank with a bag of money and got into a vehicle with a firearm in hand, Chief Drew said. Witnesses gave officers a description of the vehicle, which police later pulled over on Jefferson Avenue, not far from the credit union.
According to Chief Drew, the driver and the front-seat passenger got out of the vehicle, as instructed by officers, and were taken into custody without incident.
A man in the back seat of the vehicle did not immediately get out after commands were given, Chief Drew said. Chief Drew said video from police body-worn cameras, which are still being reviewed, shows officers telling the man to get out.
The suspect gets out of the vehicle with a firearm, pointing at officers, Chief Drew said.
That's when Chief Drew said officers fired hitting the suspect. The man, 39-year-old Stephen Williams from Hampton, died at the hospital around 1 p.m. Saturday, Chief Drew said.
Inside the vehicle, Chief Drew said investigators found a bag with money falling out. They also found a loaded firearm laying beside the suspect.
The officers involved, Chief Drew explained, were brought to NNPD headquarters for questioning. No officers were hurt.
Following the incident, Chief Drew said he called the suspect's mother.
"I wasn't calling her to ask her anything. I just wanted her to know that I was thinking about her, that she mattered to me. And it was a very, very good, good conversation," Chief Drew said.
A forensics team was still processing the scene Saturday evening.
Chief Drew said this is the department's fourth shooting involving police in 2024.
This is a developing story. Stay with News 3 for updates.
