VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Two 16-year-olds have been arrested after authorities say several suspects fired shots at a Virginia Beach police officer early Wednesday morning.
Police say it happened around 2:15 a.m. as the department’s Fourth Precinct Crime Suppression Squad was conducting plainclothes surveillance in response to a reported auto theft in the 1100 block of Craftsman Drive in the Level Green area.
The officer was driving in an unmarked car at the time when several suspects opened fire. Police say the officer fired back from inside the vehicle and fled the scene. The officer wasn’t struck by gunfire, but was later treated for lacerations from broken glass. No other injuries were reported, but several vehicles were damaged by gunfire. A nearby office building also had windows shot out.
Police say all of the suspects originally fled on foot, and a search resulted in two 16-year-olds being detained.
One, a 16-year-old from Norfolk, has been charged with two counts of tampering with an automobile, shooting at a vehicle, possession of a firearm by a juvenile and possession of an extended ammunition magazine in public.
The other, a 16-year-old male from Virginia Beach, has been charged with two counts of tampering with an automobile, shooting at a vehicle and possession of a firearm by a juvenile.
Police say there’s no additional information about outstanding suspects at this time, but the department’s homicide unit is investigating.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the VBPD Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or anonymously through Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
The aftermath
Almost everywhere you look in the 1000 block of Commonwealth Place you see bullet holes tearing through whatever they hit – cars, windows, walls.
10 On Your Side obtained home security video with the chilling 10 seconds of bullets fired.
Alexander Fleming showed us the damage to his neighbor’s car and to his car.
“This is my neighbor’s car. It was shot here, on this door, and here,” Fleming said. “This is my car right here. It was shot on this door, and here by the four assailants, and shot here through the side, and into the trunk and ending up here on the other side.”
Across the street, windows were blown out in an office building.
Mary Gavin spoke to 10 On Your Side through her missing office window.
“This is my office and there is no window,” Gavin said. “I am just thankful we were not here.”
There were two bullet holes in the wall, windows blown out, another hole near the bottom of the window.
What did she think?
“Not much,” Gavin said. “It is not a safe neighborhood.”
Ronjeanna Harris provides meals and an onsite pantry service for the poor. She had a bullet hole through the glass in the back of the van,
“I can still hold the glass door up, but you have to be careful, so you have to be cautious so it doesn’t break,” Harris said, “but other than that I can still drive the vehicle.”
Down from Gavin’s office, a bullet went through the WIC office’s front door.
We asked Fleming what he thought of his neighborhood.
“This neighborhood isn’t what it used to be,” Fleming said. “You know you aren’t safe no matter what.”
WAVY’s Lauryn Moss will have more on this story at 10 p.m. on FOX43 and at 11 p.m. on WAVY News 10.
