In the coastal city of Virginia Beach, Virginia, a domestic disturbance call on the evening of October 30, 2013, escalated into a fatal encounter for 30-year-old Shane Whitworth. The events began to unfold around 6:15 p.m. when police received a call from a woman reporting that her husband, Shane Whitworth, had locked himself in a bathroom and was making threats to harm himself. Officers responded to the home located in the 500 block of Bay Cove Quay.
Upon their arrival, the woman and her five-year-old child were able to safely exit the residence.
Once outside, the situation intensified as police heard Whitworth inside the house claiming to have weapons and refusing to come out. The sound of a gun slide being racked from within the home heightened the tension, prompting officers to establish a perimeter around the property. Whitworth eventually exited the house through a back door, armed with a handgun. He fired a single shot before attempting to conceal himself under a trampoline in the backyard. The standoff continued as he then used a ladder to scale a fence, entering a neighboring property.
In the adjacent yard, officers confronted the still-armed Whitworth. It was during this confrontation that he was shot. He sustained a gunshot wound to the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Virginia Beach Police Department's investigative division, the Office of the Commonwealth's Attorney, and the Office of Internal Affairs. The investigation identified the two officers who fired their weapons as Virginia Beach police Officer Steven Brown and Naval Criminal Investigative Service Agent Suzanne Marsteller. Following the investigation, the Commonwealth's Attorney determined that both officers were justified in their use of force and they did not face any criminal charges in connection with Shane Whitworth's death.
