Update: Fairfax County police officials have released the names of the two officers who fired their weapons in the killing of Timothy McCree Johnson near Tysons Corner Center last month, after Johnson was suspected of stealing a pair of sunglasses from the mall.

The officers are identified as Sergeant Wesley Shifflett, a 7-year veteran of the department, and Officer First Class James Sadler, an 8-year veteran. Both officers fired their weapons, according to police. Body-worn camera footage will be released within 30 days of the incident, per departmental policy.

Johnson was unarmed, according to family members and supporters, but police have said it’s unclear whether or not he had a weapon.

Fairfax police officials also announced they have agreed to a external examination of shootings by police officers in the county. The D.C.-based nonprofit Police Executive Research Forum will examine the shootings, looking for any “performance patterns, deficiencies, or trends.” The group will provide guidance and recommendations for changes to training and policy on issues including foot pursuit. The examination will not focus on the killing of Johnson, or other specific shootings.

Separately, last week, about a hundred people gathered outside the Fairfax County Government Center to protest Johnson’s shooting. Protestors called for an independent investigation of Johnson’s killing and a speedy release of footage of the incident.

Original Story:

Fairfax County police officers shot and killed an adult man after a foot chase on Wednesday night in Tysons.

The two officers, one in uniform and one in plainclothes, chased Timothy McCree Johnson, 37, out of a Nordstrom at Tysons Corner Center after security personnel reported that he was stealing designer sunglasses.  According to a statement released Thursday afternoon, the chase continued through the parking garage, across a parking lot, and 20 or 30 yards into a “wooded area.” Police say the officers followed, giving verbal commands throughout to Johnson to get on the ground. Both officers shot their weapons, striking Johnson in the chest once, and rendered first aid until rescue teams arrived.

After officers shot Johnson, he was taken to a local hospital, where he died. Neither of the police officers were hurt.

Police said the two officers who shot Johnson were part of the Tysons Urban Team, a unit of the Fairfax County Police Department that patrols the mall. The have not been named, but the Fairfax police statement identifies them as 7- and 8-year veterans of the department, respectively. (Per department policy, their names will be released in 10 days.) They have been placed on administrative leave during the investigation, which will be conducted by Fairfax police alongside the Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney. The department’s Major Crimes Division is leading an investigation into use of force, while Internal Affairs and the police auditor are also reviewing the case.

Davis said the department’s investigation of the shooting and the crime scene is ongoing, and will be able to proceed more quickly in the wooded area in daylight. The uniformed officer at the shooting was wearing a body camera, the footage of which will be made public in 30 days, per department policy. Police are also looking for eyewitnesses who may have been at the mall at the time, as well as a man believed to have been with Johnson earlier in the evening, before the alleged theft.

“If anyone saw any part of what happened tonight, either inside or outside, we want them to come forward to help us put these circumstances together,” Fairfax police chief Kevin Davis said at a press conference at the scene.

Davis asked people with information to contact 1-866-411-TIPS.

Tysons Corner Center draws a busy flow of shoppers and workers — 25 million people annually, according to Davis. In an unrelated incident last June, a verbal altercation between two groups of young men at Tysons Corner Center escalated and one man pulled a gun and shot three rounds inside the building. No one was injured in the gunfire.

It’s not clear if there were other people nearby when police shot and killed Johnson. Davis framed the officers’ actions in stopping an alleged theft and giving chase as part of his department’s “commitment to public safety” at the mall.

“When we’re alerted to criminal activity that’s in progress, it’s our longstanding duty and responsibility to investigate that,” he said. “That’s what happened tonight.”

The Fairfax County NAACP took a different view of the shooting. The organization set up a GoFundMe page to help Johnson’s family pay for his funeral expenses. The page describes Johnson’s “avid creative spirit,” desire to become a barber, and love for his two children.

“Tim wasn’t perfect. He suffered from personal demons and mental health issues,” the page reads. “But Tim certainly didn’t deserve to die over sunglasses stolen from a department store.”

Last year, Fairfax County police shot six people, double the previous high in 2013.

Abolitionist activist group Defund Nova Police called Johnson’s killing “yet another despicable act of brutality” and criticized Davis’s emphasis on Johnson’s criminal history and alleged theft.

“Davis’ focus on luxury merchandise confirms that police exist to protect property, not people,” the group said in a statement posted to Instagram.

The group noted that the killing came just a day after Fairfax County released its budget proposal, which increases police department funding by almost $3 million. Defund Nova Police is calling for half of the police budget be reallocated to housing, education, and healthcare.

“To create safer communities, we must end cycles of poverty by addressing their root causes, not further criminalize and harm those most affected by those cycles and thus at greatest risk of police violence: our Black, brown, disabled, queer, trans, and unhoused neighbors,” the group argued.

Davis promised a follow-up press conference and the eventual release of body camera footage to the public.

“The scrutiny that follows these officer-involved shootings is not just here but around the country. And it’s something we take very, very seriously,” he said.

Jacob Fenston contributed to this story.

This post has been updated with new information from the Fairfax County Police Department, and to include statements from Fairfax NAACP and Defund Nova Police.