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Musician Pharrell Williams said Monday night that his cousin Donovon Lynch, 25, was killed by police during a chaotic night of violence in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Friday.
Police said there were three shootings, and two people, Virginia Beach resident Lynch and 29-year old Deshayla E. Harris, were killed and eight injured.
Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said Saturday he believes Harris was an “innocent victim that was probably struck by stray gunfire in some regards.”
He said Lynch was killed during a “police intervention shooting.” In a statement, police said two officers present said Lynch was “brandishing a handgun at the time of the shooting.”
“An independent witness affirmed that Mr. Lynch had been in possession of a handgun earlier on the evening of March 26, 2021,” the department said in a post on Facebook, which also included photos of the weapons recovered after the shooting.
The responding officers did not have their body cameras turned on, Neudigate said.
Protesters gathered over the weekend, The Virginian Pilot reported, and some disputed the report that Lynch had been armed.
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