VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — A suspect in one of the two firearm-related incidents near the Oceanfront in Virginia Beach Saturday night has been arrested.
According to officials, around 11:15 p.m., officers observed 19-year-old Isaiah Hill brandishing a firearm towards a vehicle at the intersection of 17th Street and Atlantic Avenue. After attempting to stop the suspect, Virginia Beach Police said Hill fled the scene while discharging his weapon.
Hill was then arrested and charged with possession of an auto sear, discharge of a firearm within city limits, reckless handling of a firearm and two counts of obstruction of justice. Police said Hill was also served with warrants out of another jurisdiction.
“I would remind everyone that just because somebody is charged doesn’t mean they’ve done anything wrong at all,” said Hill’s attorney, Andrew Sacks.
No injuries were reported in this incident.
Hill told police Saturday night that he was being robbed, but they said it was Hill who pointed a gun inside a car, and that gun was equipped with a device that made it much deadlier. In court documents, police said Hill was drunk at the time of his arrest.
Police say they saw Hill on the corner of 17th Street and Atlantic Avenue around 11:15 p.m. Saturday, and next to him on the sidewalk were a tan handgun and the keys to a Mercedes-Benz. Police say that’s when Hill pointed the gun at someone inside the car. As they stopped, he ran away, and they say he got one shot off, but didn’t hit anyone.
Police said Hill’s gun had an auto sear, a device which enables it to fire up to 20 rounds in a second. Sacks said he has seen these devices in other cases.
“This certainly is not the only one,” Sacks said, “and while I’m not condoning it, at the same time, I don’t think there’s anything about this case that’s so unusual or aggravated that it justifies any kind of alert or panic.”
Shortly after the first incident, just before 11:50 p.m., officers were dispatched to the intersection of 20th Street and Atlantic Avenue for reports of an adult male suffering from a gunshot wound. Police said the victim’s wounds are considered non life-threatening.
There is no information on a suspect, and police said the two incidents are not related.
The second incident remains under investigation.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.