Two Virginia Beach police officers, Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were shot and killed by a driver, John McCoy III, 42, during a traffic stop on Friday night. The officers had pulled McCoy over for expired plates, leading to a confrontation where he shot them both twice. They later died at the hospital. McCoy was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Chief Paul Neudigate described the incident as “horrific,” noting that the shooting was captured on body-worn cameras. The community mourned deeply, with Mayor Bobby Dyer expressing heartbreak over the loss.
On Friday night in Virginia Beach, a driver shot and killed two police officers during a traffic stop, authorities reported on Saturday. The driver was later discovered deceased.
Officers Cameron Girvin, aged 25, and Christopher Reese, aged 30, were working a late-night shift when they pulled over a vehicle with expired registration plates at 11:27 p.m.
The driver became immediately “argumentative” before exiting the car in a residential neighborhood, leading to a “struggle” with the officers, as explained by the Virginia Beach police during a news conference on Saturday afternoon.
The driver, identified as John McCoy III, aged 42, shot both officers, and while they were on the ground injured, he shot them each again, according to Chief Paul Neudigate of the Virginia Beach Police Department at the news briefing. Both officers later succumbed to their injuries at a hospital.
“I’m going to be very honest, we’re all in pain,” the chief remarked, adding, “We still have responsibilities to fulfill, and we may seem composed on the surface, but our hearts are shattered inside.”
Mr. McCoy was later located in a shed near the scene of the shooting, suffering from what officers believe to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was declared dead at the scene.
There was another individual in the vehicle Mr. McCoy had been driving, but Chief Neudigate stated on Saturday that the department did “not expect charges against anyone else in this incident.”
Officer Girvin joined the Virginia Beach Police Department in 2020, while Officer Reece had been with the department since 2022, after serving as a deputy sheriff in the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office from 2020 until 2022, noted Chief Neudigate.
The confrontation was recorded by body-worn cameras of both officers as well as the camera in their patrol vehicle, according to Chief Neudigate.
He characterized the footage as “extremely disturbing” and mentioned that the driver walked away calmly after the shooting.
The tragic deaths of the two officers have deeply impacted Virginia Beach, a coastal city of roughly 450,000 residents located near the North Carolina border. While Virginia Beach is a large city, Chief Neudigate stated, “we truly are just a tight-knit community.”
Mayor Bobby Dyer was visibly emotional while addressing the media.
“Today, our city is in mourning,” he expressed. “No words can alleviate the sorrow and loss that we feel.”