A man suspected in a burglary in the 400 block of Green St. in Olde Towne was shot and killed Saturday night by police, a department spokeswoman said. Friends of a man who was shot say he was from Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan Today reports.
Friends of a man who was shot by a police officer on Saturday identified him as a cook at the Renaissance Hotel who sometimes stayed overnight with one of the occupants of the building where he was killed, hamptonroads.com. reported
Police have not released the name of the man, who was shot outside the apartment building at 454 Green St., but co-workers identified him as Kreal Suchin, in his mid-20s and from Kazakhstan.
Friends knew him as "K" or "KGB," and about 50 of them gathered Monday night for a candlelight vigil to remember him and question why he was killed.
"This is just an awful thing that happened," said Bob Brennan, the executive chef at the Renaissance Hotel. "He was a gentle guy. A great guy to have around in the kitchen ... You'd be hard-pressed to find anybody who had a bad word to say about the guy."
"He's a very sweet person," said Shante Hardy, a server at the Renaissance. "I was shocked. I thought, 'It can't be him.'"
Police said they responded to a report of a burglary in progress at the building at about 10:12 p.m. and encountered a man banging on a door.
The man did not comply with police commands and "made furtive movements with his hands, at the same time, lunging towards the Officer," a police statement said.
The officer fired, killing him. Police are investigating. The department did not release the name of the officer, who was placed on administrative leave while the shooting is investigated, a routine move in such cases. Findings will be presented to the commonwealth's attorney for review.
Employees at the Renaissance said they were shocked. Their co-worker, they said, was sending money home to his brother, who was planning to move here.
Cindy Gray, a bartender at the hotel, said Suchin had worked there for about two years, was happy with his job and never showed a temper.
"He works all the time. He's a really hard worker," she said. "He would never hurt anybody. He'd be the first one to help you."
A memorial set up on Green Street included flowers and balloons and a sign that said "RIP KGB."
"May your soul rest in peace. This tragedy will be redeemed. We all miss you and love you so much, Adrian, Sean, Star, J, Wendy and the rest of the crew," a note at the memorial reads.
Maurice Wilson, a cook at an Olde Towne restaurant who lives with his wife in the building where the shooting happened, said he let Suchin stay with him and said the two were best friends.
"His clothes are in my room. His computer is in there," Wilson said. "He wasn't trying to burglarize the place. He's not a burglar. He's a friend."
Shariyka Greenidge, a co-worker of Suchin's, fought tears at the vigil: "I wish they'd stop saying he was a burglary suspect. It's irritating me."
Aileen Putnam, who lives around the corner, said "everybody in this neighborhood knew KGB" and said she heard six gunshots on Saturday.
Two men who live in the building said they had seen KGB there to visit Wilson. When they saw him, they smelled alcohol and he often appeared intoxicated, they said.
Edgar Smith said he saw Suchin on Saturday not long before the shooting, and he was sitting on a brick curb on Green Street and later appeared to be stumbling. Smith left before the shooting happened.
Another tenant, DeMarkeo Hurdle, said he had let Suchin in the building several times because he knew him.
"He'll be sitting out here just hanging out. He was harmless," Hurdle said.
Hurdle said he last saw him on Friday night.
"It seemed as if he was intoxicated. I let him in," he said.