Two men arrested after officer-involved shooting involving Portsmouth Police at Norfolk cemetery

NORFOLK, Va. - Virginia State Police is investigating an officer-involved shooting in Norfolk.

Portsmouth Police was involved in an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Norfolk near the 1000 block of E. Indian River Road. They say the shooting occurred
during apprehension of a violent offender.

18-year-old Malachi Elliot was taken to a hospital for treatment of a non-life-threatening injury. According to Portsmouth Police, no officers were reported injured.

Police say he was wanted for contempt of court. Following the incident, he was charged with Grand Theft Auto, Possession of a Firearm by Felon, and Attempted Aggravated Murder of a Law Enforcement Officer.

During this incident, officers also arrested 18-year-old Cedric Davis Jr., who was wanted for charges from Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach. Those charges include Possession of a Stolen Automobile, Failure to Appear in Court, two counts of Carjacking, and Use of a Firearm.

News 3 was on the scene where the shooting took place at the cemetery located at Riverside Memorial Park. Both Norfolk and Portsmouth Police were on the scene.

We spoke with one young woman who was concerned after she says she was told by a friend that a relative of hers was seen in handcuffs out on the scene. People we spoke with are surprised that this happened at a cemetery.

Management at the Riverside Memorial Park tells News 3 there was not a memorial service happening at the time of the incident.

News 3's Leondra Head spoke with a witness who says she was putting flowers on her loved one's grave when she saw police chasing a car into the cemetery. She says police began firing shots.

"I don’t know why they felt so threatened by a BMW that they needed to shoot," she said.

"Did you see police arrest the guy in the silver BMW?" News 3's Leondra Head asked the witness. "No, I saw police take somebody in the ambulance, by the time somebody got arrested, I was detained," the witness said.

"Why did police detain you?" Head asked the witness. "Because they said we were a part of the crime scene since we were in the middle," the witness said.

"When I heard the gunshots I threw my phone and laid on the ground," the witness said.

The cemetery at the Riverside Memorial Park is a place she normally comes to for peace but says her day was met with chaos.

"It’s so rude to shoot at somebody’s grave. Somebody’s grave could have got shot up. Graves cost tens of thousands of dollars. It’s a lot of money to put a headstone down," the witness said.