Two Virginia Beach police officers shot dead while ‘defenseless’ during late-night traffic stop
Two young police officers in Virginia are dead after a late-night traffic stop ended in a fatal shooting.
Officers Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were pronounced dead at hospitals after the shooting, according to Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate.
The pair, who were riding together Friday night, pulled over a car for an expired license plate at about 11:27 p.m., Neudigate said during a news conference Saturday.
The traffic stop happened near the intersection of Lynnhaven Parkway and Wendfield Drive in Virginia Beach, next to an apartment complex.
Virginia Beach police are investigating Friday night’s deadly shooting of two fellow officers in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
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Both officers approached the vehicle, and the male driver, later identified as convicted felon John McCoy III, was immediately argumentative and refused to get out of the car.
At some point, he got out of the car, and there was a “tussle” between the officers and McCoy.
McCoy pulled a pistol from his pocket and immediately shot the two officers.
While they were on the ground “defenseless,” he shot them each a second time, according to Neudigate.
Virginia Beach police investigate Friday night’s deadly shooting of two fellow officers Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025 in Virginia Beach, Va. (Stephen M. Katz/The Virginian-Pilot via AP)
Officers found McCoy in a shed directly behind the apartment complex with a fatal gunshot wound to the head less than an hour after the shooting.
The gunshot wound appeared to be self-inflicted, according to authorities.
“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.”
While officials are still sorting out the motive, they said McCoy may have acted because he had a gun, a criminal offense as a felon.
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“We do know from his criminal history, he has one felony conviction from 2009, so it’s not recent, but it does make him a felon,” Neudigate said. “A felon with a firearm would be a new felony charge.”
While there was another person in the car with McCoy at the time of the traffic stop, no one else will be charged in the shootings, he said.
This incident was documented on a body-worn camera and the in-car camera, according to Neudigate.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate provides an update on the shooting deaths of two of his officers. (WTKR)
“We do have video of all of it, and I will tell you, it is quite horrific,” he said.
Girvin and Reese began working for the department in 2020.
Prior to working for the Virginia Beach Police Department, Reese was a deputy sheriff with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office, from 2019 to 2022.
“They were dedicated, determined peace officers and public servants,” Neudigate said. “They had stellar reputations in our department and their work ethic — beyond reproach. We asked them to go out in this community and keep us safe from evil. And last night, evil found them.”
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Both officers were accompanied during a procession to the medical examiner’s office.
On Saturday morning, the department doubled all its officers up in cars, so there are no single officers on the road.
“What this does is give our officers the ability to have someone in that car with them to help process, help try to make sense of what occurred, and to make them feel that they have a semblance of safety,” Neudigate said.
People gather on a beach in Virginia Beach, Va., July 2020. (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)
Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer said the city is “heartbroken.”
“We mourn the loss of two of our own brave Virginia Beach police officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Dyer said during the news conference. “Their dedication to protecting our community will never be forgotten.
“No words can ease the pain and loss as we mourn. I ask our community to come together. Please keep these officers, their families, friends and loved ones in your thoughts and prayers.”
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Congresswoman Jen Kiggans posted on X to express her condolences.
“This morning our entire community mourns the tragic loss of two brave Virginia Beach police officers who were killed in the line of duty last night,” Kiggans wrote.
Alexandra Koch is a breaking news writer for Fox News Digital. Prior to joining Fox News, Alexandra covered breaking news, crime, religion, and the military in the southeast.
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Virginia Beach police chief update: Man who killed 2 officers died from self-inflicted gunshot
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — A shooting late Friday night resulted in the death of two Virginia Beach police officers, according to the department.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate and Mayor Bobby Dyer held a press conference at 2:30 p.m. Saturday to update the community on the incident, the tragic loss of life and the ongoing investigation.
Neudigate said the “two heroes that went to work last night and didn’t make it home, two heroes that paid the ultimate price” were Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reese. Girvin had been with the police department since 2020, and Reese since 2022. Reese was also with the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office prior.
According to Neudigate, the officers saw a blue Hyundai Sonata with an expired plate and attempted to conduct a traffic stop on South Rosemont Road shortly before 11:30 p.m.
The officers followed the car to a dead end. When the officers approached, the driver became “immediately argumentative” and refused to get out of the vehicle. Police say when the driver, later identified as 42-year-old John McCoy III, finally exited the car, he pulled out a gun, shot both of the officers twice and calmly walked away.
“While on the ground, defenseless, he shot them each a second time,” Neudigate said.
Despite valiant efforts from medical personnel, both officers were pronounced deceased, surrounded by family, friends and fellow officers, at local hospitals in the early morning hours of Saturday.
Neudigate said officers immediately swarmed the area, searching for the suspect. McCoy was located in a shed behind the apartment complex on Sylvan Lane, near where he lived, suffering from a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced deceased at 12:12 a.m.
“I can say our preliminary investigation at this point in time leads us to believe this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound,” Neudigate said. “At no time did any of our officers fire shots.”
Responding to a question about whether the investigation has revealed any motivation for the killings, Neudigate said McCoy has one felony conviction from 2009. “A felon with a firearm would be a new felony charge,” but Neudigate questioned whether that would be enough to make him kill two officers. The only person who knows would be McCoy, Neudigate added.
Another person was in the vehicle, but Neudigate said no charges are anticipated.
Neudigate said Girvin and Reese had “stellar reputations in our department and a work ethic beyond reproach.” He lamented the senseless act against the young officers with futures ahead of them.
“We asked them to go out in these communities and keep us safe from evil, and evil found them. To the families of our fallen, we stand with you, we grieve with you, and we vow we will never forget the sacrifices of Cameron and Chris.”
Neudigate added that the VBPD has a “very young workforce,” and the vast majority have never experienced the loss of one of their own.
“We’re very concerned for them,” Neudigate said, adding that officers have been doubled up in vehicles to allow them to process with colleagues and add a “semblance of safety.”
Community members who live near the scene told 13News Now they saw police lights and heard sirens in the early morning hours, but did not expect Saturday morning’s news.
“It’s heartbreaking. I’m still in shock over the whole thing,” Micka Carden said. She told us she heard a gunshot late Friday night. Carden also said she saw first responders at the scene hours after the incident, well into Saturday.
“They have not left,” Carden said. “Officers came and went. Fire trucks were sitting here at like 3, 4 in the morning, but just officers coming and going, coming and going.”
“There’s videos all over Facebook, Twitter, everywhere of crazy [things]. Something that starts off so small to become so humongous. It’s all over the world,” said another neighbor who declined to show their face.
Carden, who said her son is a police officer, said she’s still processing the news.
“We’re really sorry that this happened, and we pray that God’s peace will come upon them and their families,” she said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates, as they become available.
