NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — The armed suspect shot by a Norfolk police officer and a security guard has died.
Police were called to Wards Corner just before 2 p.m. Thursday afternoon.
Police say the suspect who was armed with a knife was shot by both an officer and security guard. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
What started as a call to police reporting a man checking car door handles at Wards Corner, quickly took a violent turn.
“Police officers arrived along with a security guard who was out here. The police officer and the security guard approached the male. The male pulled a knife and advanced toward the officer and the security guard,” said Norfolk Police Chief Mark Talbot.
Talbot said that’s when shots were fired. Police identified the man with the knife as 31-year-old Gary Solomon of Norfolk.
“Both the officer and security guard fired at the male in defense of themselves,” Talbot stated.
Witness Samantha Sage told 10 On Your Side she had just pulled up to the T-Mobile at Wards Corner and saw a foot chase between a police officer and Solomon a few feet away in the same parking lot.
“I heard the cop screaming, ‘I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to hurt you,” Sage said.
Sage said Solomon charged at the officer while holding a knife and the officer fired his weapon. Solomon collapsed.
“Right after the first shot, I was halfway out of my car and I instinctively dropped to the floor and I started to crawl towards T-Mobile,” Sage explained.
Sage told 10 On Your Side that, a few seconds later, Solomon got back up and started running toward the police officer and a security guard. She heard another three to four gunshots, and then watched the officer and security guard perform CPR.
A separate witness, who did not wish to be identified, told 10 On Your Side’s KaMaria Braye that he believed Soloman was a homeless man he saw frequently in the area.
The witness said the incident started in the Harris Teeter parking lot and that Solomon ran across the street to Ward’s Corner. He heard police telling Solomon several times to stop. The witness then saw police shoot at Solomon after he kept charging at police and security.
Dozens of Norfolk police cars and Virginia State Police lined Granby Street and East Little Creek Road securing the lot and directing traffic.
Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi went through the scene with investigators.
“It’s my job to decide whether an officer [who] uses force is justified or not,” Fatehi said. “Sometimes they are difficult — sometimes these questions can turn on really small details. It’s important for me to be out here personally.”
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
