South Jersey native is one of two police officers killed in the line of duty in Virginia

One of two police officers shot and killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop in Virginia late Friday night, was originally from Camden County, New Jersey.

Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said that officers Cameron Girvin and Christopher Reece were killed after stopping a vehicle that had expired plates.

Reese and Girvin tried to pull over a blue Hyundai with expired plates along South Rosemont Avenue around 11:30 p.m., Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate said during a news conference Saturday afternoon.

That suspect failed to yield and the officers pursued the driver to a dead end street.

A Go Fund Me page has been created to support Christopher Reece‘s widow.

Neudigate says the suspect, John McCoy III, 42, got in an argument with the officers when they asked him to exit his vehicle.

McCoy eventually got out of the vehicle, pulled out a pistol, and shot both officers multiple times, Neudigate said.

Neudigate said the shooting was caught on the officers’ body cameras and described the footage as “horrific.”

“Almost immediately, there was a tussle between the officers and this individual” said Neudigate, who added that McCoy pulled a pistol from his pocket and shot Reese and Girvin.

“Those officers fell to the ground,” Neudigate said. “While on the ground, defenseless, he shot them each a separate time… What I can tell you from the video is after he executed our officers, he calmly walked away.”

“The officers, Girvin and Reece, they were dedicated, determined peace officers and public servants,” said Neudigate. “They had stellar reputations in our department and their work ethic was beyond reproach. We asked them to go out in this community and keep us safe from evil. And last night, evil found them. And that sacrifice is a painful reminder of the dangers our officers face.”

Neudigate added that officers later found McCoy inside a shed with a gunshot wound to the head that they believe was self-inflicted.

The Gloucester Township Police Department confirmed that Reese was originally from South Jersey, and that his father is retired Camden City Police Officer George Reese IV. 4free2025.png

Reese “attended and graduated from both Somerdale Park School and Sterling High School,” said the borough’s mayor, George Badey, in a Facebook post.

The borough will fly its flags at half-staff to honor Reese, the mayor said.

After graduating high school in Somerdale, Reese left South Jersey to attend Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach. The 2017 graduate “majored in business and embraced campus life as a dedicated member of Chi Beta Psi,” the university said in a post at its website.

Reese lived in several South Jersey towns but spent most of his youth in Somerdale.

Reese went on to become a deputy for the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office before joining the city’s police department.

He had served the Virginia Beach Police Department since July 2022.

Police say McCoy was convicted of a felony in 2009, and said having a firearm would have been a new felony charge. No further details were provided on the previous felony conviction.

The police department added that they are asking the public for patience as they work on the investigation and “grieve the loss of their own.”

Tragedy struck again Saturday morning in York County, Pennsylvania, where officers responded to UPMC Memorial Hospital for an active shooter incident.

Officer Andrew Duarte, of the West York Borough Police Department, was fatally shot during the incident. Two additional officers and three hospital staff members were wounded and reported to be in stable condition.