Officer shoots man after bank heist in Va. Beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

A police officer shot a man Friday after a robbery at a Wachovia Bank in Bayside.

Waving a semiautomatic handgun and demanding money from clerks, a man wearing a mask entered the bank at 1612 Independence Blvd. at about 9:15 a.m., said Officer Jimmy Barnes, a police spokesman. The man fled with cash through the front door.

Barnes described what happened next: A radar officer patrolling the Gracetown neighborhood behind the bank set up watch, thinking the robber might flee in that direction. A few minutes later, a man matching the bank robber's description appeared through a break in fences behind the bank. The officer got out of his car, drew his firearm and told the man to stop. He refused, got into a car and drove toward the officer.

The officer fired several rounds through the vehicle's windshield, Barnes said, striking the man, who drove 100 to 200 feet farther and through a fence into the backyard of a townhome at the intersection of Smokey Road and Andrew Jackson Lane.

Medics took the suspect to Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, and then for surgery to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, where he was in critical but stable condition Friday evening.

Police have identified the man as Tracy Lavern Mills, 38, of the 5000 block of Gunter St., Virginia Beach. He faces three counts each of robbery and use of a firearm.

The officer, who was not identified, will be placed on administrative duty pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

The Investigative Division and Commonwealth's Attorney's Office also will investigate.

"I hear he's very upset," Barnes said. "He felt his life was threatened."

Several Gracetown residents lauded the police's actions.

Michael Hiser was putting on his shoes to mow his lawn when he heard a boom and ran outside to see officers with guns drawn swarming the crash site across from his Frost Road home.

"They did what I feel like was appropriate," he said. "They did an outstanding job of apprehending him in a hurry and looking out for our safety."

Samantha Irby, who lives nearby with two of her children, said she's relieved no one else was injured.

"It has been robbed several times, and they weren't able to get the suspect," she said of the Wachovia. "And this time I would say they responded the way they should have responded. They did an awesome job."

Police recovered weapons from Mills' vehicle, including one believed to have been used in Friday's robbery, Barnes said.

Detectives are investigating whether Mills was connected to the Jan. 11 robbery at the same bank, Barnes said. The robbery occurred at approximately the same time of day under similar circumstances.

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com