Feb 6, 2017

A vigil for Jiansheng Chen is held at the River Walk clubhouse on Sunday, Feb. 5, 2017.

CHESAPEAKE

An attorney for Chesapeake-based Citywide Protection Services plans this afternoon to "set the record straight" on the recent fatal shooting of a 60-year-old Chinese man, a day after dozens held a neighborhood vigil to honor the victim.

Andrew Sacks, Citywide's attorney, told the Pilot the "very strong, hard-hitting, very accurate and fully documented statement about what actually happened" will show that the security guard who shot Jiansheng Chen was acting in self-defense.

Chen, 60, was playing "Pokemon Go" when he was shot in his minivan Jan. 26 a half-mile from his home in the River Walk neighborhood, according to the Chen family's attorney, Greg Sandler.

Police said Chen was sitting in his minivan around 11 p.m. outside the River Walk Clubhouse in the 700 block of River Walk Pkwy., when he was confronted by a security guard. They argued and the guard fired through various windows of the van, police said. Chen died at the scene.

No one has been charged in the incident, frustrating Chen's family, who speak Mandarin and very little English, Sandler said.

On Sunday night, about 80 people showed up to a vigil for Chen in the River Walk neighborhood, said Yuzhu Zheng, a vigil attendee.

Zheng, who lives in Virginia Beach and didn't know Chen personally, said she met the family and prayed. She said the family is grieving and feels "helpless" because they haven't been able to get much information from police.

"Everybody in the Chinese community is very sad," Zheng said Monday. "They hope they can get fair justice."

Zheng said it's "hard to imagine" how the guard could be justified in shooting Chen. She added that River Walk neighbors said last night it could happen to anyone and that they don't feel safe in the community.

In an emailed statement Monday, Commonwealth’s Attorney Nancy Parr said the investigation is ongoing and a decision has not been made regarding possible criminal charges. Investigators are following up on “incoming information” to determine its accuracy, she wrote.

“All decisions will be made based on credible evidence and not on rumors or statements made to the media that cannot be substantiated,” Parr wrote.

Citing the Virginia State Bar’s rules of professional conduct, Parr said she wouldn’t make any public statements that could interfere with any possible legal proceedings.

Kelly Elliott, a police spokeswoman, said nothing in the police report indicates Chen had a weapon. Police declined to provide The Pilot with the police report or audio from any 911 call, citing state code that exempts criminal investigation files from disclosure. The guard's name has not been released.

Chen's family has described him as a kindly grandfather who worked in a mine at age 14 to support his family. He was the first in his family to immigrate to America almost three decades ago and worked as a chef and restaurant owner, they said.

But Sacks said last week that Chen had a "history of problems" with Citywide. Sacks also said a passenger in the guard's vehicle the night of the shooting witnessed "relevant portions" of what led up to it. Sacks said a vehicle can be used as a weapon.

He plans to offer more details at a news conference at 4 p.m. The Pilot will live-stream the conference on its Facebook page.

The River Walk Community Association board said it did have a contract with Citywide for "unarmed roving patrol services" at the community clubhouse and boat ramp, but the contract was suspended immediately after the recent incident.