A month after a 40-year-old man was shot and killed by a state police special agent at the officer’s Virginia Beach home, little is publicly known about what happened that day, or why the man was there.

The incident occurred Aug. 24, in the affluent Bay Colony neighborhood near the city’s Oceanfront and the Historic Cavalier Hotel and Beach Club. The agent’s house sits in the middle of a narrow, dead-end street that’s tucked away at the back of the community.

State police said John Gregory Conner went to the agent’s front door shortly before noon and attempted to break in. When the agent confronted Conner, a physical altercation broke out and the agent shot him. Conner died from multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was classified as a homicide, according to a spokesman for the Tidewater Medical Examiner’s Office.

Shortly after the shooting, investigators said Conner was “experiencing homelessness” at the time. But an online obituary and a note posted on social media by Conner’s wife indicated he was a married father of two young girls, and had just purchased a home with his wife a few months before his death.

Conner also was a Navy veteran, having served from 2004 to 2012, according to biographical information provided by the Navy. He was assigned to the USS Donald Cook, and his last rank was listed as operations specialist 2nd class. Several of his former shipmates posted comments on his obituary page, in which they remembered him as a good friend and listener who was always willing to help others.

Last year, Conner earned a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Regent University. He was working as an implementation specialist at ADP in Norfolk at the time of his death.

Attempts to reach Conner’s family through his church were not successful, and a spokesperson for ADP didn’t respond to a request for information about his employment there.

At a celebration of life held for Conner last week at the Christian Fellowship Church that he and his family belonged to, he was remembered as a kind, ambitious, and loving family man. About 20 of his former shipmates from the USS Donald Cook stood at the front of the church as Ken Conner, who was a Navy master chief when he served with Conner and is not related to him, described Conner as a well-liked, hard-working and dependable colleague. None of the family members and friends who spoke at the service said anything about the tragic way that his life ended, or what may have led up to it.

“He was a model sailor,” Ken Conner said after the service. “He was one of my favorites.”

A spokeswoman for Virginia State Police declined to answer several questions from The Virginian-Pilot, including whether investigators still believe there was no prior connection between Conner and the agent, whether Conner had approached other houses before going to the agent’s home as had been reported by neighbors, and if they knew why Conner was in the neighborhood or what his motives may have been.

Spokeswoman Michelle Anaya said in an email that the case is still under investigation and no further information would be released at this time. Once the Richmond Bureau of Criminal Investigation completes its work, the findings will be sent to the Virginia Beach Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether any charges should be filed.

Jane Harper, jane.harper@pilotonline.com

Staff Writer Emma Brown contributed to this report.

https://www.pilotonline.com/2025/09/24/bay-colony-shooting-details/