Portsmouth: Law enforcement comes under fire executing search warrant, no injuries

Virginia State Police personnel came under fire Wednesday morning when they attempted to execute a search warrant in Portsmouth related to an ongoing criminal investigation.

Police did not return gunfire but took cover and attempted to communicate with the subject.

The suspect, Charles R. Nichols III, 33, was taken into custody approximately three and a half hours after police arrived on the scene.

Nichols has been charged with:

• three counts of attempted second-degree murder
• three counts of discharging a firearm in an occupied building
• three counts of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony
• one count of possession of a firearm by a felon
• one count of threatening to bomb a structure

There were no injuries to police or the suspect in the incident.

A woman inside the residence was taken to an area hospital for treatment unrelated to the incident.

The special operations division of VSP executed a search warrant related to an active Virginia Beach investigation at a residence in the Harbor Vista at Crawford Street Apartments at 9:54 a.m. on Feb. 18.

After shots were fired by the suspect, law enforcement made sure all residents were safely evacuated from the complex. Nichols was taken into custody at approximately 1:20 p.m.

Nichols has an outstanding warrant from the Virginia Beach Police Department.

VSP is investigating the shooting. The Virginia Beach Police Department is handling all charges related to the initial investigation and search warrant.

The Portsmouth Police Department assisted in the incident.