Police are investigating multiple shootings in Virginia Beach that killed at least two people and injured eight others by the end of Friday.
Virginia Beach police said in a press release Officers patrolled early Saturday in the 1900s block from Atlantic Avenue when they heard “multiple gunshots” shortly after 11pm
Agents then located “several gunshot victims,” eight of whom were taken to hospital for injuries, some of which, police said, ranged from “serious to life-threatening”.
Police added that an officer was also transported to hospital with minor injuries after being hit by a car, although his injuries were not considered life-threatening, a local NBC partner said. WAVY-TV
While police responded to the initial shooting, officers heard additional shots nearby, which they said led to “a person being confronted by a uniformed Virginia Beach officer, resulting in a police shooting.”
Police said on Saturday that the suspect in this shooting, believed to be related to the first, was ultimately shot and killed by the officer.
Police identified an “adult female victim” who died as a result of gunshot wounds, although Police Chief Paul Neudigate said she appeared to have been shot in a separate shooting unrelated to the first two shootings, WAVY-TV reported.
Authorities said they are still actively investigating the attacks, with several crime scene sites blocking roads in the area.
About @sentarahealth Virginia Beach General … many relatives and loved ones are waiting in the parking lot, desperate for information. I spoke to a cousin of a man who had been shot. He says “they won’t even tell me if he’s here.” @WAVY_News pic.twitter.com/wXNaIrsRYQ
– Brett Hall (@BrettHNews) March 27, 2021
The incidents take place amid a series of mass shootings across the country in recent weeks, which have sparked renewed talks between lawmakers and elected officials over arms reform legislation.
Earlier this month, a shooting at multiple spas in Atlanta killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent, sparking greater concern among many amid a spike in anti-Asian violence across the country during the coronavirus pandemic .
Investigators have not yet officially named a motive for the attack.
In Boulder, Colorado, 10 people were killed in a shooting at a King Soopers supermarket on Monday.
Police said the suspect in the Colorado shooting, 21-year-old Ahmad Al Aliwi Alissa used an AR-15 assault rifle that he bought just six days before the attack.