Teen dies after officer-involved shooting in Henrico

HENRICO, Va. (WWBT) - Henrico Police say a juvenile male has died as a result of his injuries following an officer-involved shooting.

This all happened in broad daylight in Henrico’s West End.

“You don’t see it too often around here, that’s for sure. It was a very large police presence,” General Manager of Wash Your Way RVA Chris Hall said.

Hall says he was working a normal shift at his car wash when chaos ensued.

“Watching the search helicopter, it’d be right above us, then it’d be way off in the distance, and we just weren’t sure exactly where it was,” he said. “SWAT officers walked through and appeared to have sniper rifles or very large guns.”

Hall says one of his employees called him from a block away, saying there was an active shooter.

“There were police officers everywhere with their guns drawn and were yelling at him to stay away and turn around,” Hall said. “A couple of people went inside immediately, and then I kind of just shut the bay doors, and that way, it looked like we were closed.”

Henrico Police say it all started when officers responded to 4000 Cox Road for a possible robbery around 4:40 p.m.

Upon arriving, the two suspects, a juvenile boy and one woman, took off. They ran from the police, crossing Dominion Blvd towards Sadler Rd.

Police say during the chase, one of those suspects fired a weapon at the officers. Officers then returned gunfire.

While Hall says he didn’t hear gunfire, he says the situation was intense.

“It was a little nerve-racking, you know? We have a lot of young kids under our watch out here working and not knowing the situation or what was going on. We didn’t really know what to do with them if they needed to be locked down inside or just sent home,” he said.

The juvenile was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, where he later died. The next of kin has been notified, but the police are not releasing his identity due to his age.

The Medical Examiner will determine the manner and cause of death. Three Henrico officers have been placed on administrative leave because they returned fire at the suspect.

The female suspect is now in custody. At this point, there are no charges pending against her.

“We’re just asking for anyone in the area of Cox Road to Old Sadler Road near 64 in Short Pump to give police a call if they witnessed or saw anything in the area, whether it was suspects running through the area or not,” Henrico Lt. Matt Pecka said.

No officers were hurt in the shooting. Police did not say how many officers fired weapons, but they did say the officer(s) who fired the gunshots will be placed on administrative leave while they investigate the incident.

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