The man a Virginia Beach police officer shot on Wednesday pointed a replica handgun at officers police said.
Officers responded to the 4600 block of Honeygrove Road following a report of a suspicious individual at 8:41 a.m. The 911 caller stated that someone had pointed a gun at them, according to a news release.
Officers found 18-year-old Shaun Marlar of Virginia Beach whom they believed was armed.
“Officers gave commands for Marlar to drop the weapon; instead, he pointed the pistol at the officers who were forced to discharge their firearms striking the suspect,” police said in a news release.
Marlar is in critical but stable condition. No officers were injured. Investigators recovered a “replica handgun” at the scene.
Marlar is charged with two felony counts of assault on a law enforcement officer and three misdemeanor counts of brandishing a firearm. Two officers have been placed on leave, in accordance with standard police, according to Virginia Beach police.
The Virginia Beach Office of the Commonwealth Attorney will review the evidence gathered by police as well as conduct its own criminal investigation. Once these are completed, Virginia Beach police’s Internal Affairs Unit will review the officers’ compliance with department policy, the department said in a news release.
Gavin Stone, 757-712-4806, gavin.stone@virginiamedia.com