Virginia Beach City Council will hold special meeting to discuss Oceanfront shootings

Virginia Beach — The Virginia Beach City Council will hold a special meeting on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Oceanfront shootings that left two dead and eight injured on Friday evening.

Three council members — Sabrina Wooten, Aaron Rouse and Louis Jones — requested the 1 p.m. meeting at the Convention Center for the public to receive a formal briefing to learn more about what occurred as police continue to investigate the three shooting incidents that unfolded in the Oceanfront resort area.

“We hope this public briefing yields some answers while acknowledging that not all questions are answerable at this time,” Rouse wrote on his Facebook page. “At the very least we want to reassure the public we have every intention of supporting a thorough, accurate, and timely as possible investigation.”

During one of the shooting incidents, a police officer shot and killed Donovon W. Lynch, 25, of Virginia Beach near the 300 block of 20th Street. Police Chief Paul Neudigate said the officer, who has not been identified by police, did not have his body camera on.

Initially, police said Lynch was armed, but Neudigate said on Saturday that police found a gun “in the vicinity of where this incident occurred” and there was no evidence to suggest it belonged to Lynch. On Monday, the officer involved in the shooting and another officer who witnessed it said Lynch brandished a gun, according to a statement from police.

Police also said Deshayla E. Harris, 29, of Norfolk, was killed by stray gunfire on the 300 block of 19th Street. Police have not released the name of the suspect responsible for Harris’ death, but three men were arrested in connection with the shootings, which occurred around 11:20 p.m.

Alissa Skelton, 757-995-9043, alissa.skelton@pilotonline.com.