Convicted felon executes two wounded officers at point-blank range as they lie defenseless on the road | Law Enforcement Today

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - Authorities announced that a convicted felon shot and killed two Virginia Beach police officers at point-blank range as they were already lying on the ground wounded and defenseless following a traffic stop.

According to ABC News, the officers have been identified as 25-year-old Cameron Girvin and 30-year-old Christopher Reese. Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said that both men were pronounced dead early Saturday morning, February 22nd, after being shot multiple times in a "horrific" encounter that was caught on the officers' body cameras and their police vehicle dashboard camera.

When speaking about the suspect, Neudigate said, "I can tell you from the video that after he executed our officers, he calmly walked away." The suspect has since been identified as 42-year-old John McCoy III of Virginia Beach. Police said they found McCoy dead from an apparent suicide. 

Neudigate said it was the first time in 16 years that the Virginia Beach Police Department has lost an officer in a line-of-duty shooting. He said every member of his department is hurting. During a news conference the police chief said, "We asked them to go out in this community and keep us safe from evil and last night, evil found them."

Girvin and Reese were partnered up on Friday night and were assigned to the midnight shift traffic car. At around 11:27 p.m. on Friday, February 21st, the officers attempted to stop a blue Hyundai Sonata after noticing that it had expired license plate tags. The driver, according to Neudigate, failed to pull over.

The police chief said the officers followed the car to a dead-end street, where the suspect pulled over and stopped. Girvin and Reese approached the car, which had two people inside, and requested that the driver, identified as McCoy, to get out. Neudigate said, "The male driver was immediately argumentative, refused to exit the vehicle at the officers' request. They made numerous requests for him to exit. At some point, he complied with the request and stepped out of the vehicle."

Once out of the car, a "tussle" ensued between McCoy and the officers. Neudigate said, "This individual pulled a pistol from his pocket and immediately shot both VBPD officers. Those officers fell to the ground. While on the ground defenseless, he shot them each a second time."

Responding officers began conducting a grid search for the suspect and found his lifeless body just after midnight on Saturday in a shed behind an apartment complex near where the officers were shot. Neudigate said of the suspect, "I can say from our preliminary investigation at this point in time, with everything that we know, leaves us to believe that this is a self-inflicted gunshot wound." He added, "At no time did any of our officers fire shots."

Both officers were taken to area hospitals, where they were pronounced dead at different times. Both officers were surrounded by immediately family, close friends, and fellow officers when the succumbed to their injuries. Neudigate said, "Officers Girvin and Reese, they were dedicated, determined peace officers and public servants. They had stellar reputations in our department, and their work ethic was beyond reproach."

Reese was a member of the police department since 2022, having previously worked for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office between 2019 and 2022. Girvin joined the police department in 2020. Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer led a moment of silence for Reese and Girvin at the start of the press conference, calling them "heroes."

He said, "Today our city is heartbroken. We mourn the loss of two of our brave Virginia Beach police officers, who made the ultimate sacrifice. Their dedication to protecting our community will never be forgotten."

Investigators are trying to determine a motive for the double homicide. Neudigate said McCoy had one felony conviction stemming from 2009, but had the officers found the gun on him, he would have faced a new felony charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He said the person in the car with McCoy at the time of the shooting was not arrested and is not facing any charges.