Bernard William Parks, a 33-year-old African American man from Portsmouth, Virginia, died after a shooting late on April 30, 2026. Police said officers were called to the 1100 block of Virginia Avenue around midnight, where they found Parks suffering from a gunshot wound. He was still alive when first responders reached him, and he was taken to a local hospital, but he later died from his injuries.
The shooting unfolded in Portsmouth on a Thursday night, turning an ordinary stretch of
Virginia Avenue into the scene of a homicide investigation. Online memorial records list Parks as having been lost to gun violence on April 30, 2026, in Portsmouth. His obituary identified him as Bernard “Ryda” Parks and described him as a son, brother, father, nephew, uncle, and friend. It also said he was born on December 9, 1992, in Portsmouth, and left behind family members including his daughter, mother, sisters, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, and other loved ones.
Public reporting on the case has been limited. Portsmouth police confirmed that Parks had been shot and that the investigation was continuing, but they had not released details about what led up to the gunfire, whether Parks was targeted, whether there was an argument or other confrontation beforehand, or whether more than one person may have been involved. The available reports do not describe a suspect vehicle, surveillance footage, motive, or any recovered weapon.
No arrest has been publicly reported in connection with Bernard William Parks' death. Police also had not publicly identified any suspect or suspects in the shooting, and the case was described as an active investigation. As of the available online reporting, the central unanswered questions remain who shot Parks, why the violence occurred, and whether investigators have developed leads that have not yet been made public.
