VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach police are describing what led up to officers shooting a man Friday night.
Just after 7 p.m., police were called to a dispute in the 1300 block of Riverfront Court.
When officers knocked on the door, police said a man answered and confronted them with a gun. Two VBPD officers fired, hitting the man.
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Police said the officers provided life-saving measures until medical personnel got to the scene. The man, identified as Brian Besecker, 32, was transported to the hospital with where he was listed in critical condition.
Authorities did not release any details about the incident but said Besecker is charged with three counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of domestic assault. Additional charges are pending.
Neighbors described the incident as shocking.
"It's definitely not something I would have expected. You know, I'm kind of glad they were able to respond so quickly," one neighbor told News 3.
"The VBPD Homicide Unit is conducting one of two criminal investigations into this incident. Upon completion, the complete VBPD investigation will be reviewed by the Virginia Beach Office of the Commonwealth Attorney (OCA) for compliance with existing law," VBPD said in a press release. "In addition to the VBPD investigation, the OCA is conducting its own parallel, independent criminal investigation."
The officers involved were not injured and are on administrative leave which is standard in these incidents, police said.
"Upon conclusion of the criminal investigations, the VBPD Internal Affairs Unit will conduct an administrative review to determine compliance with policy and training," the release said.
The incident is the third officer involved shooting in Hampton Roads that News 3 has reported on in the past two weeks.
Two other recent officer-involved shootings include one in Suffolk and one in Newport News.
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In Suffolkpolice said they had been attempting to talk to a teenage girl with weapons when things escalated. An officer shot and injured the teen. News 3's still working to learn more details in that case, but police said they're investigating.
In Newport News police said they responded to a wellness check and to serve an arrest warrant at a mobile home when an officer shot and killed an armed man. Newport News police chief Steve Drewlater updated the public at a press conference.
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"I wish we had a crystal ball and could tell what is going on in people's minds. I wish we had technology that could allow us to see through these walls and what the situation was. But we don't have that," said chief Drew. "What we did have was an hour, an hour and fifteen minutes, of no one responding to a telephone call, several calls I should say, no one responding to calls coming over a PA system or loud speaker calling people by name, and then we start to hear yelling and screaming, sounds of distress and help. At that point officers entered the trailer. They saw a struggle."
The man's former girlfriend spoke with News 3 about the victim's mental health crisis.
"He wasn't trying to harm anybody except himself," said Michelle Ellers, former girlfriend of shooting victim.
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis you can call the hotline at 988.
These kinds of shootings are devastating and draw a lot of scrutiny, but what do the numbers look like in Virginia?
Seven police officers were shot in the line of duty in Virginia in 2023 according to the Fraternal Order of Police. And last year in Virginia 23 people were shot by police according to the Washington Post's database.
