VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - The Virginia Beach City Council has called for a special meeting and public briefing in regards to the string of Oceanfront shootings that killed 2 people and injured eight.
Council members Louis Jones, Aaron Rouse, and Sabrina Wooten have called for a special meeting to take place at the Convention Center on Tuesday, March 30 at 1 p.m.
This meeting was called after three shootings at the Oceanfront on Friday. The shooting rampage started Friday night just before 11:30 p.m. at Atlantic Avenue and 20th Street after police said a group of people got into a physical fight.
We hope this public briefing yields some answers, acknowledging that not all questions will be answerable at this time. We want to reassure the public that we have every intention of supporting a thorough, accurate, and timely as possible investigation. pic.twitter.com/Rmwwxp5TCB
— Aaron Rouse (@AaronRouseVaBch) March 28, 2021
Three men have since been arrested and charged in connection to the first shooting that took place.
Shortly after, a shooting a few blocks away on 19th Street and Pacific Avenue, killed bystander, 29-year-old Deshayla Harris of Norfolk. Police believe she was hit by a stray bullet during the exchange of gunfire.
The third shooting in the 300 block of 20th Street involved an officer. The officer shot and killed Donovon Lynch, 25, of Virginia Beach. Police Chief Paul Neudigate held a press conference Saturday to provide updates on the shootings.
Chief Neudigate revealed that the officer who fatally shot Lynch, body camera was not activated at the time of the shooting.
“We don’t have a whole lot of answers,” he said during the press briefing. “What I can tell you is that there was a firearm recovered in the vicinity of where this incident occurred. We would like to be more forthcoming but unfortunately we do not have body cam footage of this incident.”
Chief Neudigate tweeted Sunday that police were issuing search warrants in connection to the shootings.
Out earlier this morning serving search warrants related to Friday night’s shooting Atlantic @ 20th. Thanks to @ATFHQ @VSPPIO @NorfolkPD and others for their assistance. pic.twitter.com/TNSXHtcpO1
— Chief Paul Neudigate (@PaulNeudigate) March 28, 2021
Related: Witness recounts events during shooting rampage at Oceanfront
