Foster Trader, an 18-year-old male from Dover, Delaware, was fatally shot on the night of September 4, 2026, outside the CAVA restaurant at 1037 North DuPont Highway. At approximately 9:47 p.m., Dover police began receiving multiple calls reporting gunfire in the area. When officers arrived, they found Trader on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Officers immediately began emergency medical treatment while additional medical personnel were called to the scene, but the efforts to save him were unsuccessful. Trader was pronounced dead at approximately 10:04 p.m.
The shooting occurred at a place that had become an important part of Trader's life only recently. His mother, Tabitha Trader, said he had graduated from Dover High School in June and had been hired at the newly opened CAVA, his first job. She said he was on a break from work when he was shot. He had also recently been accepted to Delaware State University as well as a trade school and was considering whether to pursue engineering or train to become a master plumber. His mother remembered him as humble, respectful and intelligent, and said he was one of seven siblings and enjoyed playing NBA 2K.
Police secured the restaurant parking lot and surrounding area after the shooting while detectives and other personnel began processing the scene. Investigators recovered multiple spent shell casings and began reviewing other available evidence in an effort to determine what happened immediately before the gunfire and who was responsible. Authorities did not publicly disclose how many shots were fired, whether more than one firearm was involved, or whether Trader had been specifically targeted. Police also did not announce a motive or say whether Trader knew the person or people responsible.
Trader's mother said she did not know the identity of the killer or killers or what motivated the shooting. Although she spoke about concerns involving violence in Dover, police have not publicly attributed Trader's killing to a gang or established any particular motive. Investigators therefore continued treating the circumstances leading to the shooting as an open question rather than publicly identifying a reason for the attack.
In the initial stages of the investigation, Dover police said they had no suspect description to release and no information about a suspect vehicle. No arrests had been made. Detectives appealed specifically to anyone who witnessed the shooting, noticed suspicious activity around the restaurant near the time of the gunfire, possessed surveillance footage, or had other information that could help reconstruct the events of that night. The case was assigned incident number 50-26-31360 and remained under investigation by the Dover Police Department's Criminal Investigations Unit.
As of the latest publicly available reporting located for the case, authorities had not announced an arrest, publicly named a suspect, filed charges, or reported a prosecution in connection with Trader's killing. The evidence recovered from the CAVA parking lot and any additional evidence gathered by detectives remained part of an active homicide investigation, leaving the person or people responsible for his death publicly unidentified.
