Arlington County police have released body camera footage of a fatal shooting of a man who had barricaded himself inside a 7-Eleven with a knife more than five months after it happened.
The video covers about a three-hour period from May 8 at the 7-Eleven at 3602 Columbia Pike. Officers had been called there about a man threatening to slap a woman.
The man officers shot was 33-year-old Shawn Valn.
The footage starts with officers in the parking lot shouting commands at Valn from a distance to put his hands up. Police can be heard telling dispatchers that Valn had a knife.
Eventually, Valn moved into the 7-Eleven and barricaded himself in a storage room. The store was evacuated, and over the next two hours, the video details negotiations with police for him to leave the storage room and surrender.
Valn did not comply, and police Chief Andy Penn said officers eventually made the decision to force open the door.
“Valn again advanced toward officers and was in close proximity to multiple officers with his arm raised while holding the knife in an elevated position while pointing it at officers,” Penn said.
Two officers fired their weapons, and what sounds like nine gunshots can be heard in the video. Valn was killed. Penn said multiple officers deployed several “less lethal” methods to try and get Valn out, including tasers, irritant-type sprays, soft-tipped projectiles and a police K-9.
The Office of the Arlington County Commonwealth’s Attorney is investigating, and a grand jury inquiry is underway. Penn did not release the names of the officers involved, nor would he say if either officer had been involved in previous line-of-duty shootings.
“Both officers are in a restrictive duty capacity; they’re both police corporals and have six and seven years of police service, respectively.”
Penn said there is also movement toward changing the process of releasing body camera footage, which right now is essentially at the discretion of the county police chief.
“We’re working to develop a different policy that will be more in line with what some other agencies are doing.”
The Arlington County Board is holding a town hall Monday night, during which the public can express concerns about this incident or anything that’s going on in the county.
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