A Virginia Beach teen is in custody after a tense standoff situation in the early-morning hours on Tuesday.
Elijah Santiago, 18, of Virginia Beach, faces multiple charges, including assault on a law enforcement officer, in the 3:42 a.m. incident, in which Santiago reportedly pointed a gun at officers, who fired at him in self-defense.
Police had been called to the scene, in the area of Bonney Road and Trace Court, to investigate a report that shots had been fired in the area.
While on the scene, the responding officers heard shots coming from the dead end of Trace Court.
The officers encountered two individuals inside a parked car who stated that an individual had just fired shots and pointed out the residence which that subject had fled into. Officers established a perimeter around the apartment and utilized a megaphone to command the occupants to exit.
Approximately 20 minutes after surrounding the apartment, Santiago exited the rear of the residence and pointed a handgun with an extended magazine at VBPD officers.
Two of the officers discharged their weapons at Santiago, who immediately fled back inside.
Santiago ultimately exited the apartment and surrendered to officers. It was determined that he had not been struck by police gunfire and was uninjured.
Both VBPD officers who fired their firearms are uninjured and have been placed on administrative leave, which is routine in these types of critical incidents.
The VBPD Detective Bureau is conducting one of two criminal investigations into this incident. Upon completion, all evidence obtained by VBPD will be turned over to the Virginia Beach Office of the Commonwealth Attorney, which will review for compliance with existing law.
In addition to the VBPD investigation, the OCA conducts their own parallel, independent criminal investigation. Upon conclusion of both criminal investigations, the VBPD Internal Affairs Unit will conduct an administrative review to determine compliance with department policy, procedure, and training.
This is an ongoing investigation. Anyone with information relating to this case is asked to contact the Virginia Beach Police Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or anonymously through Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP.
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Chris Graham
