'Evil found them': Virginia Beach police chief alleges 2 officers were 'executed' during traffic stop

A convicted felon allegedly "executed" two Virginia police officers at point-blank range as they were already lying on the ground wounded and defenseless following a weekend traffic stop, authorities said.

Virginia Beach Police Officers Cameron Girvin, 25, and Christopher Reese, 30, were both pronounced dead early Saturday after being shot multiple times in a "horrific" encounter that was caught on the officers' body cameras and their squad car dashboard camera, according to Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate.

"I can tell you from the video that after he executed our officers, he calmly walked away," Neudigate said of the suspect, identified as 42-year-old John McCoy III of Virginia Beach, who police said they found 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."

"We asked them to go out in this community and keep us safe from evil. And last night, evil found them," Neudigate said during a news conference on Saturday.

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

The chief said the officers followed the car to a dead-end street, where the suspect pulled over and stopped.

Neudigate said Girvin and Reese approached the car, which had two people inside, and requested the driver, identified as McCoy, to get out.

"The male driver was immediately argumentative, refused to exit the vehicle at the officers' request," Neudigate alleged. "They made numerous requests for him to exit. At some point, he complied with the request, stepped out of the 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," Neudigate said. "Those officers fell to the ground. While on the ground defenseless, he shot them each a second time."

Neudigate said responding officers began conducting a grid search for the suspect and found his lifeless body just after midnight Saturday in a shed behind an apartment complex near where the officers were shot.

"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," Neudigate said of the suspect. "At no time did any of our officers fire shots."

The mortally wounded Reese was taken to Sentara Princess Anne Hospital in Virginia Beach, where he was pronounced dead shortly after midnight Saturday, Neudigate said. Girvin was pronounced dead at Virginia Beach General Hospital around 4:30 p.m. Saturday, the chief said.

Both officers were surrounded by immediate family, close friends and fellow officers when they succumbed to their injuries, Neudigate said.

"Officers Girvin and Reese, they were dedicated, determined peace officers and public servants," an emotional Neudigate said. "They had stellar reputations in our department, and their work ethic was beyond reproach."

He said Reese had been a member of the police department since 2022, having previously worked for the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office between 2019 and 2022. Neudigate said Girvin joined the police department in 2020.

Neudigate said investigators are trying to determine a motive for the double homicide. He 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.

"I think we all want to know that," Neudigate said of the motive. "But I think only one person does, and that individual is deceased."

He said the person in the car with McCoy at the time of the shooting was not arrested and is not facing any charges.

Virginia Beach Mayor Bobby Dyer led a moment of silence for Reese and Girvin at the start of Saturday's news conference, calling the officers "heroes."

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