The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
There was no word Friday on a suspect or a motive in the killing Thursday night of a naval officer who was walking with his fiancée and two children near Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center.
Police, responding to a report of shots fired in the 100 block of Beverly Ave., found the man on the ground suffering from multiple gunshots wounds.
Paramedics arrived soon after, but Sgt. Jim Robertson, a police spokesman, said the victim was pronounced dead about a half hour later at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
On Friday afternoon, police identified the victim as 40-year-old Lt. Todd Cox of the 500 block of Talbot Hall Road, which is just a few blocks away from the shooting scene.
Cox, who was assigned to Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 125, joined the Navy July 1985 and had been assigned to the squadron since August 2006 where he worked as an Aviation Maintenance Officer.
Neighbors said Cox was out walking with his fiancé and two children – one his from an earlier marriage, one hers from an earlier marriage – when a truck pulled up. A man got out of the vehicle, walked up to the victim and shot him.
The gunman continued to fire after Cox fell to the ground, witnesses said. The assailant then got back in the vehicle and fled.
Reports of the shooting began coming into 911 dispatchers about 8:09 p.m., Robertson said.
When officers arrived, Robertson said they found Cox on the ground, "just off the pavement" of the road.
The scene of the shooting is just off Granby Street, across from DePaul Medical Center.
Steve Stone, (757) 446-2319/2309, steve.stone@pilotonline.com
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Seriously
Brighteyes – Your sweeping comments on military officers are very serious. Please take all the research and “proven facts” and alert the media to this clandestine underside of our military. I'm sure this would make the local news. Perhaps they could site your 30 years of “experience” as cause for an official investigation. Don’t forget about the Norfolk Police as well since you personally know that this case is getting more police attention than others simply because of Todd’s rank.
You’ve taken to attacking a murder man’s military rank and stereotyping your ill conceived feelings about officers during an inappropriate time. Go somewhere else to instigate, use spell check and stop being such a negative human being.
Todd was a great American that dedicated his personal and professional life to the Navy and his family and was taken from us too early.
Rank has everything to do ...
RHIP and it shows everywhere and you know it. The higher a person the more is done for you... that's what rank has to do with it. Even if you were a former father-in-law what does THAT have to do with it... to me, obviously the person who murdered him knew him, so the burning question is... what did he do to piss someone off and who was that person, and people are not always what they seem. It is very different at work than it is in the household. You can be a loving individual at the homefront and a royal jerk at work and that is a proven fact. It happens all the time. Officers are the worst offenders BECAUSE they abuse their privledges everywhere. There is a ONE IN A MILLION officer who has never forgotten where he came from or how he climbed and this Lt Cox may or may not have been one of those persons because they are a very rare breed... Like I said before 'RANK HAS ITS PRIVLEGES' and just as there is a million GODs of all kinds, they use and abuse those privledges. You know and I know it. Ive worked for the military and was a military spouse for over 30 years combined so do not tell me what a nice guy he was. Many people will tell you how officers are. I work wit
Do not let this go cold.
Do not let this go cold. Somewhere there is a killer in our community that knows he has gotten away with murder. There is nothing to stop him from doing it again. Sooner or later he will implicate himself and hopefully someone passes the information to the police to bring closure to Todd’s family and make the community safer.
To Brighteyes24, your comments reflect your ignorance. And to attempt to belittle a murdered man's accomplishments because you think officers are different than enlisted is disgraceful.
The the uninformed
What does rank have to do with anything. Lt. Cox was not born with a commission. He ENLISTED at the age of 17 and worked extremely hard to step up through the ranks. He was a third class petty officer when I first met him. He came from a background that few of us can imagine and even fewer overcome. He used the opportunities in the military to obtain the education that would have otherwise been unavailable to him. As an enlisted man he was runner up for Sailor of the Year and was soon selected as a Chief Petty Officer at nearly the same time as he was selected as a Limited Duty Officer. He delayed accpeting the commission in order to serve in the honored ranks of Chief Petty Officers. Even as an LDO he continued his education, eventually earning his degree. He didn't use his rank to rule but rather as position to educate, train and mentor those that worked for him.
As his former father-in-law, Todd left this life with my admiration, gratitude for defending us all and a great deal of love in our hearts for someone we had the chance to share our lives with.
Just Wondering...
I wonder if it was an enlisted man who was assasinated would the police do as much for him? I cannot help but think that someone who stops out of the blue walks up to someone shoots him point blank and no one else was just that, a planned assasination...sounds like a deliberate hit to me. Knowing officers (most officers, I should say) the way they are they think their sh*t doesnt stink...got news boys and girls...you get dressed the same way as the rest of the 'normal' working suckers everywhere...so my question is WHO DID HE P*SS OFF BAD ENOUGH TO SHOOT HIM??? Food for thought, maybe....
Keep this inquiry alive
This has quickly disappeared from front page news & that cannot happen. We have to make sure the story stays alive until some explanation comes out. Otherwise, we risk complacency when it comes to these horrific crimes that affect our shipmates, friends, & neighbors.
Afraid of Norfolk
As I read all of these blogs I see people comparing Norfolk to Richmond. As I drive around Virginia Beach, Norfolk and Chesapeake I notice one thing common about our different police departments. The police are more worried about talking on their personal cell phones than patrolling and paying attention to their assigned area they are paid to protect. Our first step in taking back control of our neighbor hoods is to get some real police out there who want to serve and protect. LT Cox served and protected our country, I think at a minimum for LT Cox our police department needs to serve and protect our neighbor hoods. Second is to get help form our Judges and court system. Punish these idiots with what they deserve.
Very Suspicious
So the perp didn't go after the fiancee and the children? It sounds to me like this was a targeted killing, in the way it was executed as reported. Makes me wonder...
My condolences and thoughts to the family, fiancee, and children. What a tragedy.
What is happening in Hampton Roads???
I can't belive how violent Hampton Roads has become! I am so glad that I moved to Virginia Beach a couple years ago. Now I can't wait to move out of Hampton Roads. Norfolk had better get the crime problem under control. Everybody I know say they will not go to norfolk at night and now daytime anymore. Sounds like that would be bad for business.
Also, I think this might be a gang induction murder. I know that the gang MS 13 is operating in this area. I hope the police are considering this avenue as well. And if you think this is horrible you should read about the murders of Channon Christian Christopher Newsom in Knoxville, TN. It's one of the biggest stories we all missed.
Tragic
Has anyone considered the unthinkable possibility of a serial killer, as in the DC/NoVA sniper case? I hate to bring it up, but unless this man had a terrible enemy, which seems unlikely given everything I've read so far, it's not outside the realm of possibility.
Has anyone heard whether a memorial has been set up for this family that has to be devastated beyond belief.
God's peace to Todd & his family