Williamsburg Police say the officer involved in a fatal shooting Tuesday in Hampton is a 16-year veteran assigned to the department’s Criminal Investigations unit.
Williamsburg Police Department spokesman Maj. Greg Riley confirmed the Williamsburg officer has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into the incident.
The officer was investigating a series of car break-ins and a vehicle theft that happened in the City of Williamsburg when the shooting occurred around 11:19 p.m., according to a Hampton Police Department news release.
A Newport News Police officer and the Williamsburg officer, who is part of a task force, were in the area of 21st Street and Orcutt Avenue in Newport News Tuesday night when they saw a stolen Ford pickup truck driving down the road, the release said.
The two officers began following the truck, which they believed was stolen from Chesapeake, the Hampton release said.
The truck pulled into a 7-Eleven in the 700 block of Kecoughtan Road in Hampton, where the officers attempted to make contact with the people in the vehicle, the release said.
The release states one person in the vehicle pointed a gun in the direction of one officer. The truck then drove toward both officers and hit their unmarked police car.
One person was killed and two others were injured by the gunfire, the release said. There were five people in the vehicle.
Police on scene recovered five firearms, the release said. Police have identified the man fatally injured as DeAndre Bethea, 24, of Newport News.
Newport News Police and Williamsburg Police will handle administrative investigations of the incident involving the officers, the release said. Hampton Police will handle the criminal investigation.
Both officers are on paid administrative leave pending the criminal and administrative investigations. The incident is still under investigation, according to Hampton Police.
Riley said he could not confirm which Williamsburg officer was involved in the shooting.
