VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Police surrounded a Virginia Beach Town Center parking lot Saturday evening after responding to reports of gunshots near Apex Entertainment.
A Virginia Beach Police Department (VDBPD) spokesman noted suspects were in custody on Saturday. In a release the following day, the department announced that 30-year-old Eric Oliver of Portsmouth was arrested and was the "single suspect."
Oliver is facing 12 felony and misdemeanor charges, including two counts of shooting into an occupied dwelling, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony and two counts of destruction of property.
“From what I heard someone was shooting outside, I didn’t know if it was like a terrorist shooter or anything like that," local worker Chris James told 13News Now.
The incident was initially reported as an active shooter situation on Columbus Street just after 4 p.m. VBPD said responding officers found spent bullet casings outside an entrance to a parking garage, prompting them to begin "systematically clearing each level of the structure."
In addition to locating Oliver, police said the search led them to a Glock 23 and a .40 Caliber Pistol, equipped with an extended magazine.
The news of gunshots spread across the local businesses prompting pedestrians to remain indoors. At the Sandler Center nearby, audience members were told to remain in their seats after the conclusion of the play on Saturday evening.
“They came up on the stage, they said ‘Please take your seats, and then someone said there was an emergency across at The Westin,'" Ardis Phelps said, attending a play with her husband Jerry.
No one was reported injured in the incident.
