Pharrell calls for “transparency, honesty and justice” after his cousin’s death in a police shooting incident.
In a social media post on Instagram, Pharrell revealed that his cousin Donovan was recently killed after a series of shootings in Virginia Beach, USA.
Pharrell wrote: “The loss of these lives is a tremendous tragedy. My cousin Donovon was killed during the shootings.
“He was a bright light and someone who always showed up for others. It is important that my family and the families of the other victims receive the transparency, honesty, and justice they deserve.
“Virginia Beach is the epitome of hope and tenacity, and as a community we will get through this and come out stronger.”
You can see the full post below:
A number of Pharrell artists and staff including The Weeknd, Swiss Beatz, Kenya Barris and others have expressed their condolences in the comments on the post.
As reported in Sky News, 25-year-old Donovon Lynch was shot dead by a police officer in a series of three different “chaotic shootings” in the area last Friday (March 26) in Virgina Beach. Two people, including Lynch, were killed while eight others were injured in another incident.
In a statement, the Virginia Police Beach Department said homicide detectors had interviews with an officer involved in the shooting of Lynch, an officer who witnessed the incident and an “independent witness”.
CORRECTION #VPBD update March 26th 2021, officer involved shooting pic.twitter.com/L1EPV4eK8Q
– Virginia Beach PD (@VBPD) March 29, 2021
VBPD releases the second update for night photography. @CityofVaBeach pic.twitter.com/KrN0XGmzNf
– Virginia Beach PD (@VBPD) March 27, 2021
The statement added that both offers alleged that Lynch was “brandishing a pistol at the time of the shooting” and “recovered from the scene”.
A 28-year-old woman, Deshayla E Harris, died of a gunshot wound in another shooting that night. The police believed she was an innocent bystander.
Eight other people were injured in a separate shooting that took place shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday. All were taken to local hospitals, with conditions ranging from “serious to life-threatening”.
Mr Lynch was shot dead by a police officer in a third incident – which happened when, Sky reports, “officials were investigating the original shootings and shots were fired nearby”.
The case sparked controversy after it became known that the officer who killed Lynch was wearing a body camera, but the police chief said it was not turned on for “reasons unknown”.
The officer who shot Lynch has now been put on administrative leave.