Two police officers were shot and killed during a traffic stop in Virginia Beach late Friday evening, the Virginia Beach Police Department said. Hours later, the suspect was found dead with a “gunshot wound to the head” that authorities believe was “self-inflicted.”
Officers Christopher Reese, 30, and Cameron Girvin, 25, were fatally shot while attempting to pull over a blue Hyundai Sonata with expired plates, Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said at a press conference on Saturday.
When the car failed to stop, officers pursued it to a cul-de-sac and approached the vehicle, Neudigate said. The driver, identified as John McCoy, was “immediately argumentative” and initially refused to exit the vehicle at the officers’ request, Neudigate added.
When McCoy, 42, eventually compiled, a struggle broke out between him and the two officers. During the altercation, McCoy allegedly drew a pistol and shot both officers, Neudigate said. McCoy shot both of the officers a second time while they lay on the ground wounded, and then drove off, Neudigate added.
Both officers were later pronounced dead at nearby hospitals, where they were surrounded by family and friends, the police chief said.
“I’m going to be quite honest. We’re all hurting,” Neudigate said. “We’ve got families that have lost a loved one in the prime of their life, and they are completely devastated.”
“We’ve got an officer that is 25 years old, another one that is 30, with such a future ahead of them, senselessly taken,” he added.
In the hours after killings, police found McCoy’s body in a Virginia Beach apartment complex.
“Ultimately, the determination and cause of death will be up to the medical examiner, but I can say that our preliminary investigation at this point in time, with everything that we know, lends us to believe that this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” he said. “At no time did any of our officers fire shots.”
At the press conference, Neudigate was joined by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer.
“Our city is heartbroken. We mourn the loss of two of our own brave Virginia Beach police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” said Dyer. “Their dedication to protecting our community will never be forgotten. No words can ease the pain and loss.”
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