Chaotic Night Ends With 2 Dead, 8 Injured In VA Beach Shootings

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA — Two people were killed and eight others injured in three separate shootings, one officer-involved, Friday night in the oceanfront area of Virginia Beach, according to police. Authorities released the names of three men arrested in connection with the violence.

Virginia Beach's Atlantic Avenue, the main strip along the oceanfront, was packed with local residents and tourists enjoying the warm weather. But then chaos broke out among the hordes of people.

After the shooting ended in the 2000 block of Atlantic Avenue, several people were injured. But no one was killed, the Virginia Beach Police Department said Saturday afternoon. Three men were later arrested and charged in the Atlantic Avenue shootings.

The two shooting victims, Deshayla E. Harris, 29, of Norfolk and Donovon W. Lynch, 25, of Virginia Beach, died in separate incidents after the initial shootings on Atlantic Avenue.

The violence began around 11:20 p.m. Friday night when Virginia Beach police officers responded to an initial call of a shooting on Atlantic Avenue at 20th Street.

"The preliminary investigation indicates that a group of individuals were involved in some type of conflict that resulted in a physical fight," the police department said in a statement issued Saturday afternoon. "At some point during the physical altercation, several individuals produced firearms and began shooting at each other, resulting in numerous people being wounded."

Several minutes later, Virginia Beach police officers heard additional gunshots in the 1900 block of Pacific Avenue, one block west of the Atlantic Avenue shootings. Harris, a bystander to the shooting, was found in the 300 block of 19th Street, near Pacific Avenue. She died from her injuries at the scene.

The police department said it is not believed the second shooting incident is related to the initial incident on Atlantic Avenue.

A fatal officer-involved shooting also occurred near the scene of the second incident, when a uniformed Virginia Beach officer "encountered an armed citizen," police said in the update Saturday. The citizen, Lynch, died at the scene, located near 20th Street and Pacific Avenue. The police officer was not shot.

The officer involved has been with the department for five years, according to the department, and will be placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, as is protocol.

The police department said that at some point during the multiple shootings, a Virginia Beach police officer also was struck by a vehicle and taken to a local hospital. The officer has been treated and released.

Ahmon Jahree Adams, 22, of Chesapeake, Nyquez Tyyon Baker, 18, of Virginia Beach and Devon Maurice Dorsey Jr., 20, of Virginia Beach were arrested and charged with seven counts of felonious assault, use of a firearm in commission of a felony and reckless handling of a firearm. All three men, who were allegedly involved in the initial shooting on Atlantic Avenue, are being held at the Virginia Beach City Jail.

The police department said it plans for increased policing in the oceanfront area through the remainder of the weekend.

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