VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The Virginia Beach Police Department has handed over the investigation into the fatal police shooting of Donovon Lynch over to Virginia State Police.
The department sent a tweet Tuesday with a statement from Police Chief Paul Neudigate.
The statement reads that Neudigate "formally requested on March 29, 2021 that the Virginia State Police assume the investigation of the officer-involved shooting on March 26, 2021. The Lynch family and the involved officer each deserve a comprehensive and thorough investigation into this incident, and we appreciate the public's patience as we pursue every facet of it."
Lynch was shot and killed by a police officer on March 26 at the Oceanfront.
The officer who shot Lynch was interrogated by members of VBPD's homicide unit as well as another officer who was there at the time of the shooting.
Both officers said Lynch had a gun. A witness also told police that Lynch had a gun prior to the shooting. Not much else is known at this point about how the weapon was part of the encounter with the police.
Grammy Award-winning artist and singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams released a statement on social media on Monday revealing that Lynch is his cousin and requested that his family and other victims' families "get the transparency, honesty and justice they deserve."
Lynch was just one of a number of victims in three shootings the night of March 26 at the Oceanfront. There was another shooting near 19th Street that killed 29-year-old Deshayla Harris. Several people were injured in another shooting on Atlantic Avenue and 20th Street.