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A police officer fatally shot a man in an encounter that capped a chaotic night of violence on Friday in Virginia Beach, where a woman was also killed by stray gunfire, the authorities said.
The police said they were investigating the fatal shooting by a police officer of the man, identified as Donovon W. Lynch, 25, of Virginia Beach.
The police initially said the officer had “encountered an armed citizen, which resulted in a police-involved shooting.” Mr. Lynch died at the scene, the police said.
On Saturday night, the police chief, Paul Neudigate, said he wanted to respond to community members who were concerned that Mr. Lynch might not have been armed.
“What I can tell you is that there was a firearm recovered in the vicinity of where this incident occurred,” he said.
Asked if the police had evidence that the firearm belonged to Mr. Lynch or if he had been armed when he was shot, the chief said, “At this point, no.”
He added, “We’re still very early in the investigation.”
Chief Neudigate said the police did not have body-camera footage of the shooting, even though the officer was wearing a body camera. “For unknown reasons, at this point in time, it was not activated,” the chief said.
The lack of body-camera footage is under investigation, he said.
“We pride ourselves in being accountable and responsive,” Chief Neudigate said. “We do not have the answers that the community is looking for.”
Officials did not identify the officer who shot Mr. Lynch. The officer was part of the Virginia Beach Police Department’s special operations division and had been with the department for five years, the police said.
The shooting of Mr. Lynch came after another shooting that was believed to be unrelated, the police said.
In that case, officers heard gunshots and found a woman, identified as Deshayla E. Harris, 29, of Norfolk, Va., who had been shot on 19th Street, near Pacific Avenue. Ms. Harris was a bystander and died at the scene, the police said.
“We do believe that she truly is, at this point in time, an innocent victim that was probably struck by stray gunfire,” Chief Neudigate said.
Ms. Harris was found as the police were managing a third shooting scene nearby. In that shooting, officers had been called to Atlantic Avenue at 20th Street in the oceanfront resort area at about 11:20 p.m., the police said.
A group of people were involved “in some type of conflict that resulted in a physical fight,” the police said. “At some point during the physical altercation, several individuals produced firearms and began shooting at each other, resulting in numerous people being wounded.”
Eight people were taken to the hospital with serious or life-threatening wounds, the police said.
Three men were charged in connection with the shooting: Ahmon Jahree Adams, 22, of Chesapeake, Va.; and Nyquez Tyyon Baker, 18, and Devon Maurice Dorsey Jr., 20, both of Virginia Beach. All three face assault and firearms charges, the Virginia Police Beach Department said.
“What you can see is that we have a very chaotic incident, a very chaotic night in the beach,” the chief said. “Many different crime scenes.”
Also, at some point during the chaos, an officer was struck by a vehicle. He was taken to a hospital and has since been released, the police said.
Virginia Beach was the site of a mass shooting in May 2019, when a longtime public utilities employee opened fire on his co-workers with a handgun. He killed 12 people and injured several others. He died after an extended shootout with the police.
The mayor of Virginia Beach, Robert M. Dyer, said the 2019 shooting and the coronavirus pandemic prompted the city to come together, and he expected that to happen after the shootings on Friday night. “We’re a very resilient city,” he said.
Reporting was contributed by Mike Baker, Maria Cramer, Michael Levenson, Christopher Mele and Christina Morales.
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