VB police chief gives update on fatal shooting at fair

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Virginia Beach Police Chief Paul Neudigate will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. Thursday regarding the fatal shooting that occurred near Mount Trashmore last month.

An 18-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl were shot near the summer carnival at Mount Trashmore Park on May 25, Virginia Beach police said. The girl died of her injuries.

The press conference comes after Neudigate previously described the complications of the investigation in his address to the Virginia Beach City Council, saying the city’s police had been “fed a lot of misinformation.”

“We have a 15-year-old who lost her life and we have been repeatedly lied to by the individuals who were there,” Neudigate told council members. “No one has come forward as an independent eyewitness and if anything they have provided contrary information. So they have made it incredibly difficult for us to get justice for these families.”

Police said the shooting did not take place at the fair itself, but was close enough that emergency responders and police were able to arrive quickly and provide assistance. Both victims were taken to the hospital, where the girl was pronounced dead.

The 15-year-old girl killed in the shooting near the Mount Trashmore Summer Carnival was a student at Virginia Beach City Public Schools (VBCPS), officials confirmed to 13News Now.

Police described the shooting as a “chaotic scene.”

The 18-year-old who was shot and injured outside the Virginia Beach Summer Carnival on Memorial Day weekend is now facing felony charges in connection with the incident, authorities confirmed.

Markal Cook, 18, was arrested on May 29 – four days after the fatal shooting near Mount Trashmore Park – for illegally carrying a concealed weapon, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD). This is Cook’s third offense.

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In an interview with 13News Now in jail, Cook flatly denied any involvement in the shooting that left 15-year-old Jeyani Upshur dead and said he didn’t even bring a gun to the carnival. He said he went there to enjoy the evening with his niece.

However, Virginia Beach police tell a different story. According to court documents, there is alleged video evidence showing Cook “taking a handgun from a hidden location and firing into a crowd.”

Cook said investigators showed him the video, but he said it only showed the chaos of that night.

“The video they showed me was a video from Instagram and it only shows gunshots and you don’t see me or the little girl who was shot.”