Below: The Newport News Police Department held a press conference at 5 p.m. Monday after a woman was shot and killed by police during a standoff over the weekend. Here a few highlights from the briefing:
- The woman who was shot and killed by police was 38-year-old Monae Bonaparte, whose last known address was in Newport News. Bonaparte also has ties to Portsmouth and Hampton.
- Before the incident, Bonaparte got a ride from Portsmouth to the Peninsula. During the trip, she became agitated and held the male driver and another passenger at gunpoint, Police Chief Steve Drew said. Bonaparte made the driver stop the car and told the passenger to exit. She started directing the driver to a location and at one point pistol whipped him in the face. She grabbed the wheel of the car, causing it to crash into a parked car off of 16th Street.
- Police received six 911 calls from people in nearby apartments that Bonaparte was waving a gun around, and that shots were fired. She also broke four windows by smashing the gun into them.
- Police kept their distance and used shields as Bonaparte was weaving in and out of nearby bushes. Bonaparte also called 911 and made threats to police if officers came any closer and also made threats to harm herself.
- Police tried to deescalate the situation and get Bonaparte to drop her gun. One officer moved to the side to get a better vantage point. That’s when Drew says she allegedly pointed her gun at the officer. That officer then fired, striking Bonaparte. She later died at the hospital.
- The officer who shot Bonaparte is on administrative leave pending the investigation into the shooting.
- Officers originally responded to reports of several gunshots after a car carrying Bonaparte crashed at 2:17 a.m. Saturday. One gunshot was fired between the time officers arrived and Bonaparte was shot, Drew said.
- Bonaparte’s handgun came back as stolen from Portsmouth in a home burglary in 2023. It is not clear how she got it.
- During the standoff, 911 dispatch called Bonaparte’s mom about the situation.
Previous coverage below
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – A woman police say was armed with a gun was shot to death during an early-morning standoff with officers Saturday.
According to a release from the Newport News Police Department, officers were dispatched to the 1100 block of Jebs Place around 2:20 a.m. Saturday in reference to a person with a gun. Additional calls reported shots fired in the area.
Upon arrival, police said they encountered an agitated woman with a gun. They said despite several attempts to de-escalate the situation, and due to the woman’s actions, an officer discharged his weapon, striking the woman. Officers said they rendered aid until medics arrived, and the woman was transported to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.
Earlier in the night, the Hampton Police Division received a call where occupants of a vehicle reported being carjacked and held at gunpoint by the woman. The individuals claimed she demanded the driver take her to a specific location, and while traveling, the driver crashed into a parked vehicle, leading her to exit the vehicle and leave the scene on foot.
The owner of the parked vehicle is neighbor Danny Bartlett.
“I’m looking at the car and then I dialed 911. And by then, a couple of minutes later, the police arrived down there and then we heard some shots. An officer, he was running up with a gun. He was like, y’all need to go take cover because it’s an active shooter,” Bartlett said.
He showed 10 On Your Side his home surveillance footage of his car being hit in the rear, moving a couple of feet.
He said in the two years he’s lived in that area, nothing like this has ever happened before.
But he’s just glad he had his cameras up and rolling.
“Everywhere I move, I have my cameras protecting my property and myself and my family,” Bartlett said.
The woman’s weapon was recovered. Police said it was reported stolen out of the city of Portsmouth.
No officers were injured. The officer who fired the shot has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending completion of the investigation. The investigation remains ongoing.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
