Four Virginia Beach officers fired 30 rounds in 7-Eleven shootout

The Virginian-Pilot ^ | September 9, 2015 | Katherine Hafner

[csvset]

VIRGINIA BEACH

The vehicle pulled into a spot at a 7-Eleven parking lot, away from the business and its patrons.

Officers from a special operations unit had been following it for a half-hour before they pulled in behind it, police Chief Jim Cervera said Tuesday.

Four officers approached. The passenger fired four rounds, Cervera said. One pierced an officer's sleeve, but he was not struck.

Police returned fire - 30 rounds total, the chief said.

The passenger, Angelo Delano Perry, 35, of Virginia Beach, and the driver, India Kager, 28, of College Park, Md., were killed. Their infant son was in the vehicle but not harmed. Cervera said officers did not know the baby was there.

The exchange lasted less than 15 seconds Saturday night.

Cervera said the four officers were placed on administrative duty after the shooting at the intersection of Lynnhaven Parkway and Salem Road in the Princess Anne area.

"The officers did everything in their power to mitigate a violent confrontation," Cervera said. But it became one, and "we regret the loss of both Mr. Perry and Ms. Kager."

Police said Tuesday they recovered a 9 mm handgun that was used to fire at officers and a Tec-9 semi-automatic weapon that was in a bag at Perry's feet. Both were loaded.

Cervera said authorities had received information before the shooting that indicated Perry might be planning to commit a violent crime in Virginia Beach.

He was a "person of interest" in a homicide investigation, but Cervera said he couldn't release details.

Perry spent almost 13 years in prison after he was convicted of several crimes, including malicious wounding, use of a firearm in a felony and assault and battery on a law enforcement officer, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Lisa Kinney. He was released on mandatory parole in May 2014 and was on community supervision at the time of the shootout, records show.

Police would not identify the officers involved but said an internal investigation is taking place.

"Officers involved in deadly force situations take that with them for life.... They don't carry that lightly," Cervera said.

The commonwealth's attorney said in a statement Tuesday that the office is independently investigating whether the officers' use of deadly force was justified.

The office has three retired enforcement officers from outside Virginia Beach who are available to do such reviews, said Macie Pridgen, a spokeswoman for the commonwealth's attorney. One of them will conduct an investigation separate from the Beach police's with access to the same documents and interview subjects, she said.

Kager was stationed at Oceana Naval Air Station and served for four years before leaving the service in May 2013, according to the Navy. She was awarded a good conduct medal during her time.

Kager's mother, Gina Best, who lives in Maryland, told The Associated Press that Kager had been in Virginia Beach a couple of hours before the shooting. Best said that the infant is Kager's 4-month-old son, Roman, and that Kager's grandmother went to Virginia Beach to get him. Kager also had a 4-year-old son.

Best told the AP that her daughter recently got a job as a postal carrier near Washington. She said Kager's father and grandfather are retired police officers.

"I have to refer to my baby in the past tense," Best said. "That absolutely sends my psyche into a realm of darkness that I never wanted to experience."

Pilot writers Matt McKinney and Mike Hixenbaugh contributed to this report.

Katherine Hafner, 757-446-2705, katherine.hafner@pilotonline.com.

[grobdriver]

In four years, don't you get more than one good conduct medal?

Nope - one every four years - as long as you don't get caught.

That's just the Good Conduct - if you mean other medals, that would depend on where she served and what she did.
You usually got some kind of something for going almost anywhere - I think they were just focusing on the "good conduct" in an attempt to dress her up.

[equaviator]

“”Officers involved in deadly force situations take that with them for life...They don’t carry that lightly,” Cervera said.”

That’s extremely unfortunate, especially under kill-or-be-killed circumstances. Officers involved in situations like that shouldn’t be so hard on themselves because there is no good reason for them to be.

[oh8eleven]

In four years, don't you get more than one good conduct medal?
USMC is one every three years.

[Reno89519]

Tailed them for 30 minutes, then pumped 30 rounds into the vehicle without regard to passengers, including a 4 month old baby. This was an attack team, not a simple street cop, surely they could have been less trigger happy—what was the reason for the stop? Broken tail light, failure to signal a lane change? Sorry, seems like the cops were out to get them, got excessively trigger happy in the process. As well-prepped as they were, could they not have queried surrender or something before their volley of bullets? Something stinks about this. (and I am not suggesting innocence on the part of the victims, just nothing suggests they did anything illegal up to the point of the one firing a shot. The woman and baby were unarmed. Mom’s death is manslaughter, if not premeditated. Again, this was an attack team that stalked them for 30 minutes. 30 minutes.)

[Hugin]

With a baby no less.

[DoughtyOne]

That’s pretty much what I thought. And don’t you also as a general rule pick up a few other awards or medals?

[DoughtyOne]

I misread that, to mean 1 each year. LOL You wrote it clear as could be. Oops...

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, I agree with the ‘dress up’ comment. That’s why I was questioning if she should have more than that to point to.

[JimRed]

In four years, don't you get more than one good conduct medal? Maybe that's normal.

I believe the GCM covers an enlistment period and is awarded at the end, usually when the recipient reenlists. But it's over half-a-hundred years since I served...memory fades.

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks for the mention.

[Mashood]

Littl’ piggies don’t want to be sizzled.

[CGASMIA68]

But if they’ve been together long enough to have a child she certainly had time to find out.

I believe it only reads she had a 4 yo.....Was it his kid???

[DoughtyOne]

Thanks JimRed. Others seem to agree with your thoughts.

[csvset]

I have to wonder about Perry's decision to shoot. Why endanger your baby's momma and your son's life?

I was wondering if the cops considered pulling the car over and making a "felony stop" ?

Perry very well have been inclined to shoot anyways.

At least one cop was in uniform, the source article showed the uniform pierced by Perry's gunfire.

Officers from a special operations unit . Hence the cool green uniform.

On Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2015, police show where a bullet from a 9mm handgun entered and exited a Virginia Beach police officer's uniform during a fatal officer-involved shooting outside a 7-Eleven in the Princess Anne area of Virginia Beach over the weekend. (Rich-Joseph Facun | The Virginian-Pilot)

[meatloaf]

The store video will show what happened. If Perry opened fire first he signed his own death certificate.

[100American]

Think Tribal at its base instinct...

Women value security to nest, breed, procreate...

If you got yourself a Bad A** Brotha as your “Man” you have power

So they think...

Old age deoes not mean the same to folks who live in this layer and manner of life
Gang Bangers who are at or in their 30’s are known as Veteranos, but living to be old and grandchildren...

Nope, live for the now and go down in a blaze of glory

That is your Legend to the rest

some will follow

and the story continues

[CGASMIA68]

He was a “person of interest” in a homicide investigation, but Cervera said he couldn’t release details.

They pulled in were not pulled over plus firing 1st was probably not a smart thing to do but we know what were dealing here when it comes to smarts on the part the dead ones

[Bobalu]

I don’t understand such thinking.
I guess I’m lucky?

What a strange view of the world.

[csvset]

I have to wonder why they didn't conduct a "felony stop".

The police say that Perry was a "person of interest" in a homicide investigation, but Cervera said he couldn't release details.

Can't they say whose murder? I don't quite follow that. Someone has been murdered, shouldn't the name of the deceased in that case be made public?

[petercooper]

Thank God nobody else was killed.