Richard “Ricky” Lamot, a 48-year-old man from Bealeton, Virginia, was known throughout his community as a devoted family man and a dedicated youth sports coach. He and his wife, Barbara, were raising two teenage children, a son and a daughter, who were both seniors at Liberty High School. Lamot was a constant presence in his children’s lives, never missing a game, tournament, or performance.
His passion for youth sports extended into the broader Fauquier County community, where he coached little league football and hockey. For about four years, he served as the assistant wrestling coach at Liberty High, and also coached a Fauquier Youth Football team. Friends and fellow coaches remembered him as a selfless man who gave his time and energy generously to other people's children. Manassas City Police Chief Doug Keen, who knew Lamot personally from coaching, described him as a "deep family man." Another friend said, "He was a family man first, he loved his kids."
The morning of September 30, 2026, began like any other workday for Lamot at United Rentals, a construction equipment rental company on Wellington Road in Manassas. He reportedly wasn't even scheduled to work that day but had gone in before attending one of his son's events. Around 7 a.m., a recently hired coworker, 37-year-old Marvin Grant of Charlotte, North Carolina, arrived at the facility. According to police, Grant told another employee, "Three people are going to die," before producing a handgun and opening fire. The shooting, which stemmed from an apparent workplace altercation, left three men wounded. Lamot and his colleague, 33-year-old Christopher Serrano, were killed. A third employee was shot and critically injured but was expected to survive.
Immediately after the shooting, Grant fled the scene in a gray or silver Toyota, prompting a statewide manhunt. Manassas City Police, aided by the Prince William County Sheriff's Office, secured the scene and began their investigation. Detectives used cellphone data to track Grant's vehicle as it traveled south. The alert was shared with Virginia State Police, who were notified around 8:20 a.m. that Grant might be in the Rockingham County area. A state trooper spotted the suspect's car on Interstate 81 in Augusta County.
Troopers attempted a traffic stop at a rest area near mile marker 232. Grant briefly exited his vehicle before getting back inside and speeding away, initiating a pursuit. A few miles down the interstate, near mile marker 227, Grant pulled over again. He got out of the car holding a handgun to his head. A police tactical team and a trained negotiator were deployed to the scene. Before they could intervene further, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Grant suffered a fatal self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Virginia State Police confirmed that no officers fired their weapons during the encounter.
With the primary suspect deceased, the case was considered closed by investigators, though the specific motive for the tragic act of workplace violence remained unclear. The community’s focus shifted to supporting the families of the victims. For Ricky Lamot's family, the outpouring of support was immediate and immense. Kiley Gonzalez, whose husband coached with Lamot at Liberty High School, organized a GoFundMe campaign to help his wife and two children.
Friends described Lamot as genuine and caring, a man who might have had a "hard shell on the outside, but he was all mushy on the inside." He was the kind of person who would give you the shirt off his back. The fundraiser, initially set with a goal of $20,000, quickly surpassed that amount, with donations exceeding $30,000 within days as the community rallied to support the family through an unimaginable year. As of October 2026, the investigation was concluded, leaving a family and a community to grieve the sudden and violent loss of a beloved father, husband, and coach.
