STAUNTON, VA (Rocktown Now) — Staunton Chief of Police James Williams has released a statement following an officer-involved shooting at Walmart last week that left one person dead.

The following a press release:

“On September 22, 2026, a Staunton police officer was involved in a shooting incident on the Wal Mart parking lot that claimed the life of Montique Treymayne Gaston, 39, of Portsmouth, Virginia. The Staunton Police Department offers its sincere condolences to the friends and family of Mr. Gaston.

A Staunton police officer arrived at the Wal Mart parking lot after being dispatched to a 911 call from a citizen. The officer made contact with Mr. Gaston in the parking lot, at which point an altercation took place. During the incident, the officer fired their weapon, striking Mr. Gaston. The involved officer and officers responding to the call immediately rendered lifesaving aid to Mr. Gaston and summoned emergency medical personnel to the scene, but Mr. Gaston was subsequently pronounced deceased at the scene.

The officer involved was wearing a body-worn camera and it recorded the entirety of the incident. This recording has been properly preserved and was turned over to the Virginia State Police, who are conducting an independent investigation into the incident. Since this video footage is part on an ongoing investigation, it will not be released at this time.

We recognize that the death of Mr. Gaston is deeply painful, and that this pain extends far beyond the immediate circumstances of this incident.

For many members of our African American community, this shooting raises difficult and painful concerns about race, fairness, and whether every person can have confidence that they will be treated with dignity and equal protection under the law. Those concerns deserve to be heard and taken seriously.

At this time, we do not have all of the facts, and it would be inappropriate for me to prejudge the investigation or reach conclusions before the evidence has been fully examined. At the same time, waiting for the facts does not mean that we should ignore the pain, fear, anger, or questions that people are experiencing.

We will support a thorough, impartial, and independent investigation of this incident. We will make information available to the public to the fullest extent permitted by law, and we will cooperate fully with those responsible for determining what happened and whether the actions taken were lawful and consistent with policy and training.

Most importantly, we extend our sincere condolences to Mr. Gaston’s family and loved ones. We also recognize the impact this death has had on our entire community, particularly on those who see in this incident concerns that are connected to experiences of racial inequality and distrust of the police.

While we understand that the public has questions, we are requesting patience as the investigation will take some time to complete. Any future updates regarding the investigation will be provided by the Virginia State Police. lt is our goal is to have a complete, thorough, transparent and independent investigation into this incident.

As stated previously, once the Virginia State Police completes its investigation, it will be turned over to a Commonwealth’s Attorney for review. This will be a prosecutor in Virginia who is independent of the City of Staunton and the Staunton Police Department.”