VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - Hunt Club Farm, a popular attraction in Virginia Beach, announced Friday afternoon that it will be closed all weekend because of several confirmed bird flu cases.

The facility said recent testing detected avian influenza in several of their birds, believed to have been brought to the farm by waterfowl.

Hunt Club Farm said all affected areas were immediately quarantined and disinfected, and they are doing humane depopulation to prevent further spread.

As a precautionary measure, the BirdWalk aviary will be closed for 30 days.

Since this is primarily a farm, the facility noted that bird flu does not pose a risk to farm animals, such as goats, sheep, llamas, horses and others.

In response, we immediately notified local, state and federal, human & animal health officials, including the Virginia Department of Health & Agriculture and the USDA and other local and state agencies. We have activated our Emergency Response Plan and are working closely and daily with local, state, and federal agencies to implement all necessary measures to contain and mitigate the situation.

Excerpt from Hunt Club Farm post

"The virus is is definitely on the landscape right now, at least in the in eastern Virginia," said John Tracey, Wildlife Veterinarian with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.

Tracey said those Canada geese and ducks you see all around retention ponds in neighborhoods across Hampton Roads could absolutely be current carriers.

"We definitely would not condone a feeding of wildlife, especially in the scenario that we have right now where this this virus, we know it to be density dependent, meaning the more that we concentrate individuals onto the landscape, the more viral transmission we have," Tracey said.

Virginia DWR warns of increase in bird flu cases on Eastern Shore

Friday's Hunt Club Farm bird flu announcement comes after several other bird flu cases recently confirmed on Virginia's Eastern Shore.

Tracey said it takes a community effort to stop the spread. He recommended if you see five or more dead vultures, waterfowl shorebirds in the same area within a period of five days, call the Department of Wildlife Resources Hotline at 1-855-571-9003.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - An inmate at the Virginia Beach Correctional Center is facing additional charges after deputies said he committed fraud behind bars.

According to officials, Kareem Walter Ryer — who was booked on Nov. 12, 2024, for five counts of forgery, five counts of identity fraud-financial loss, four counts of obtaining money by false pretenses and one count of conspiring to commit fraud — is accused of stealing credit card information from the internet in order to place orders from the canteen, or prison commissary.

Deputies said the total amount stolen was valued at more than $1,000.

A report from the Virginia Beach Sheriff's Office's Criminal Intelligence Unit (CIU) states that Ryer, along with an accomplice, Khalil Brown, who assisted in placing orders in the names of other inmates, would specifically target inmates who do not typically receive Canteen to ensure his account wouldn't get flagged.

Ryer would then resell some of the ordered items for a higher price using CashApp, the report said. Ryer was also heard on a monitored phone conversation that he wanted to use the money to post his $100,000 bond.

"Just because an inmate is locked up on other charges doesn't mean they can't find a way to keep committing crimes behind bars," Virginia Beach Sheriff Rocky Holcomb said. "This case highlights that sometimes criminals aren't turning over a new leaf in our jail and that they continue to victimize and pull scams from the jail housing units. It also highlights the vigilance of the sworn deputies of the Criminal Intelligence Unit to investigate and shut this type of illegal activity down."

A release states that various tactics were used to investigate the case, including voice recognition, internet address searches, jailhouse interviews and reverse-telephone number software.

"Following an extensive investigation, it was determined that an inmate in Virginia Beach Correctional Center collaborated with an out-of-state civilian to commit fraud using stolen credit information obtained from the dark web," Sgt. J. Cameron said. "The Criminal Intelligence Unit successfully secured 16 felony warrants in connection with this incident."

As a result of the investigation, Ryer was charged with six counts of felony conspiracy to commit credit card fraud, two counts of felony identity theft and one count of inmate violation.

In addition, Khalil Brown, of Bronx, New York, was also charged with six counts of felony conspiracy to commit credit card fraud and two counts of felony identity theft.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — One person was injured in a nine-vehicle crash on Interstate 64 eastbound at Indian River Road in Virginia Beach Wednesday evening, Virginia State Police said.

The crash happened around 8:35 p.m. when an unknown driver's vehicle became disabled in the traffic lane, State Police said. The disabled vehicle was topped in the traffic lane, which caused vehicles to stop abruptly and crashing into one another. The unknown disabled vehicle that had been stopped left the scene.

One person was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Eight people were injured as the result of a nine-vehicle crash at the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Lynnhaven Parkway Wednesday afternoon, officials said.

Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital received eight patients from the crash, with four listed as trauma patients. Sentara, in a statement, said care is ongoing and "most are expected to be treated and released from the emergency department."

Princess Anne Rd multi-vehicle crash (WAVY photo)

The multi-vehicle crash, which happened just before 12:30 p.m. at the intersection of Princess Anne Road and Lynnhaven Parkway, caused parts of Princess Anne Road to close Wednesday afternoon, with a 10 On Your Side crew at the scene reporting nine cars to be involved, with eight taken to the hospital.

According to officials, all lanes of Princess Anne Road from Salem Road to South Independence Boulevard were closed due to the crash. Ferrell Parkway from Pleasant Valley Road to Salem Road was also shut down.

The crash remains under investigation.