Virginia Beach Police: AK-47 rifle recovered after falling out of vehicle

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - After a Virginia Beach Police captain says eight illegally possessed firearms were seized at the Oceanfront over the weekend, the police department is providing more details into one of the incidents that led to the recovery of an AK-47.

News 3 reached out to VBPD after seeing a tweet from one of the department's police captains.

Authorities told us that around 1:15 a.m. on June 5, officers patrolling the Oceanfront saw a vehicle parked in the 400 block of 19th Street. Inside the vehicle, they saw people with several open containers of alcohol.

Officers approached the vehicle to initiate an investigation. That's when police say the driver turned on their lights, disregarded orders and went to drive away.

At some point during this, the car door was opened and what they described as an "AK-47 rifle" fell out as the driver sped away.

The driver fled towards I-264, but because of police protocol, the officers did not pursue them.

Police still trying to identify the suspect.

Authorities told News 3 that the gun on the top row in VPBD Captain Harry McBrien's tweet (pictured below) is the gun that fell out of the vehicle in this incident.

Related: Virginia Beach Police seize more guns at Oceanfront; grassroots group doing its part to clean up streets