18 Year Old Shot By Police Was Armed

Reported 7/12/10

NORFOLK--A man killed by police during a chase early Sunday was raising a handgun when officers fired, the Police Department said today.

Jamarr Hassell, 18, was shot about 2:23 a.m. after officers tried to pull over a Ford Explorer he was driving. About five officers had responded to the 7100 block of Sewells Point Road for a report of gunfire.

Hassell ran from the Explorer and was shot by police during a foot chase, "Prior to shooting, officers verbally challenged suspect, instructing him to drop his gun. Suspect turned toward officers and began to raise his weapon when officers fired," a police statement said.the department said.

Two officers have been put on administrative duty while the shooting is investigated, which is routine in such cases.

The gunfire report was made at 2:17 a.m. A second caller five minutes later said a man in a Ford Explorer was firing a gun into the air near Johnstons Road and Chesapeake Boulevard, police said.

Officers tried to stop an Explorer on Sewells Point Road; when it stopped, Hassell ran from it, police said.

The officers at the scene were not aware that Hassell was wanted on charges of robbery, carjacking and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with a Wednesday incident, police said. In that case, four people tried to carjack a man about 1:40 a.m. in the 7400 block of Fenner St. Police allege that Hassell was one of the carjackers and fired at the victim as he ran.

The Ford Explorer that Hassell was driving had a North Carolina license plate that did not match the vehicle, police said. Chris Amos, a police department spokesman, said investigators believe it was stolen.

He was wanted in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, Norfolk police said. In Chesapeake, Hassell was facing charges of vandalism, two counts of grand larceny and failure to appear, police said. The Virginia Beach charges came while Hassell was a juvenile, and a police spokesman said he couldn't comment on them.

On his Facebook page, Hassell said he liked comedian Martin Lawrence, and he listed his interests as "money" and his activities as "Smoking weed."