In the early morning hours of Sunday, January 4, 2026, David M. Valentine Jr., a 33-year-old man from Bolivar, Tennessee, was working as a DoorDash delivery driver in Nashville. He and a female passenger had just completed a delivery and were driving in his Chevrolet Traverse on Murfreesboro Pike at approximately 4 a.m. As they passed a nightclub in the 800 block of the road, the sounds of gunfire suddenly erupted.
The female passenger heard the shots and quickly realized that Valentine
had been struck by a bullet. She managed to safely pull the vehicle over to the side of the road and immediately called for emergency assistance. Paramedics arrived and transported Valentine to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, but tragically, he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. Investigators later determined that Valentine was an innocent victim, not involved in the dispute that led to the shooting.
Homicide detectives from the Metro Nashville Police Department began an immediate investigation into the senseless act of violence. They soon learned that a group of individuals had been ejected from the nearby nightclub shortly before the shooting. Believing these individuals were connected to the gunfire, detectives appealed to the public for assistance, releasing surveillance images of two females and a male who were strongly believed to be involved.
Community tips proved crucial in the investigation, and within a week, police identified a suspect. On the weekend following the shooting, Metro Nashville Police arrested 21-year-old Atirahs Hogan. The investigation alleges that after she and her friends were kicked out of the nightclub, Hogan fired shots from a vehicle as they were leaving the area. One of these rounds fatally struck David Valentine Jr. as he was driving by. Hogan has since been charged with criminal homicide and felony reckless endangerment, with her bond set at $520,000.
