Police: 3 shot by police, 1 killed outside Hampton 7-Eleven

Three people were shot, and one of them was killed, during an incident involving Newport News and Williamsburg officers Tuesday night in Hampton, an official said.

The incident happened at a Wythe 7-Eleven shortly after 11:15 p.m., Hampton Police Division spokesman Sgt. Matt Bond said in a news release.

The Newport News police officer and a task force officer from the Williamsburg Police Department were patrolling in southeast Newport News when they spotted a Ford pickup truck driving in the area of 21st Street and Orcutt Avenue. They followed it after confirming it was stolen out of Chesapeake, Bond said.

The stolen truck drove into Hampton and pulled into the parking lot of the 7-Eleven, at 715 Kecoughtan Road, and the officers attempted to make contact with the people inside. Someone inside the vehicle “displayed” a gun “in the direction of one of the officers,” Bond said. The driver of the pickup tried to flee, driving the truck toward the officers and hitting the unmarked police vehicle, he said.

Both officers fired shots, hitting three of the occupants of the truck, Bond said. All were taken to the hospital. One man, identified as DeAndre Bethea, 24, of the 1200 block of Ivy Avenue in Newport News, died from his injuries at the hospital. One of the other suspects is suffering from life-threatening injuries, Bond said.

Two additional people inside the truck were apprehended. Police also recovered five firearms that were in the suspects’ possession in the vehicle, Bond said.

Crime scene tape stretched along Kecoughtan Road from Pear to Cherry avenues and around the 7-Eleven store into Wednesday morning. The pickup truck appeared to have crashed against a pole next to a gas pump. The truck had a bullet hole in the driver’s side window.

A Jeep was parked behind the truck with its doors open. More than a dozen evidence markers dotted the parking lot, including a handful placed behind the Jeep.

A pile of clothes, including two pairs of shoes, laid between the gas pump and the front of the store.

Bond told reporters at the scene Wednesday morning he couldn’t comment on how the officers were holding up after the incident, but he said they were not injured.

Both officers involved were placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigations, he said.

The Newport News and Williamsburg police departments have launched administrative investigations. The Hampton Police Division is handling the criminal investigation. Police officials from Newport News and Hampton responded to the scene.

“It’s a very static scene with lots of moving parts,” Bond said. “It has been a very trying and taxing morning.”

The agencies did not identify either of the officers who opened fire.

Williamsburg Maj. Greg Riley said the Williamsburg officer is a 16-year veteran of the force, currently assigned to the criminal investigations. Riley said he was “investigating a series of car break-ins and a vehicle theft” that took place in Williamsburg late Monday and early Tuesday, and had not been involved in a prior shooting.

Newport News police spokeswoman Jamie Bastas said that city’s officer is a 12-year veteran of the Newport News Police Department. The officer was assigned to the Newport News Police Violent Crimes Reduction Task Force, and was investigating stolen vehicles, Bastas said. The officer had previously been involved in two shootings, “both involving vicious dogs” being shot.

“The Hampton Police Division is conducting the criminal investigation into this incident and is the lead agency,” Newport News Master Police Officer Brandon Maynard said in an email. “All inquiries about this officer-involved shooting must be directed to Hampton Police Division.

“The Newport News Police Department will not discuss any details about this ongoing administrative investigation until it’s completed.”

Spokeswoman Cpl. Ashley Jenrette wrote in an email Wednesday afternoon,”All additional updates will be released via Hampton Police official website, www.hamptonvapolice.org and the official Hampton Police Twitter page.”

Staff reporter Peter Dujardin contributed to this story. Ketchum can be reached at 757-247-7478.