Jeff Orlando Tolson, a 28-year-old Black/African American male from Dover, Delaware, was killed in the early hours of Sunday, December 18, 2022. Around 2:48 a.m., Dover police were called to the 900 block of Woodcrest Drive after reports of shots fired. When officers arrived, they found Tolson on the ground suffering from gunshot wounds. They began life-saving efforts at the scene before he was taken to Bayhealth-Kent, where he later died.
Tolson was known to family and friends as
“SOS.” He had grown up in the Dover area, graduated from Dover High School in 2012, and had been involved in wrestling, football, and track. Family accounts described him as someone who loved football, especially the Philadelphia Eagles, and Sunday gatherings with relatives were a major part of his life. Those gatherings were filled with food, joking, and family rivalry over football, especially when the Eagles played the Cowboys.
His obituary and later family accounts described him as a devoted father who loved being around his children, nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends. He had two daughters and two sons, and his family said his children were central to his life. In the period before his death, relatives said he had been working for a Pennsylvania-based construction company and was making more adult decisions for his future, including decisions that showed he was thinking about his children and long-term responsibilities.
Police initially released very few details about what led to the shooting. The official early report said there was no suspect description available at the time, and the case remained an active homicide investigation. Authorities asked anyone with information to contact Dover police, including Detective Bowman, and also directed tipsters to Delaware Crime Stoppers.
One year after the killing, Tolson's parents publicly said they were still waiting for an arrest. They believed they knew who shot their son and said they thought the person was a former friend with whom Tolson had argued. Dover police, however, did not publicly confirm a suspect by name and said detectives were still actively investigating the case. As of the available online reporting, no arrest, trial, conviction, or formally named suspect has been publicly reported in connection with Jeff Orlando Tolson's death.
