Dejour Crippen

Dejour “DJ” Crippen was a 17-year-old senior at Indian River High School in Chesapeake, Virginia, with his future taking shape. A Black teenager described by his mother as the life of the party, Dejour had goals he was actively pursuing. He was considering joining the U.S. Navy after graduation and had recently taken the ASVAB test to explore that path. His principal and the school community remembered him as one of their own, a member of the Braves family.

On the evening of Monday, December 2, 2024, around 9 p.m., Dejour’s life was irrevocably altered. Police in Virginia Beach were called to the 5700 block of Kempsville Road, near the intersection with Schoolhouse Road and the Tallwood Apartments complex. There, they found Dejour suffering from a gunshot wound. He was rushed to a local hospital for emergency treatment, but he succumbed to his injuries and passed away the next morning, on Tuesday, December 3.

The Virginia Beach Police Department launched an investigation into the deadly shooting. The case developed quickly, and on Thursday, December 5, investigators arrested a suspect in connection with Dejour’s death. The person taken into custody was a 17-year-old male. Due to his age, authorities did not publicly release his name.

Following the arrest, the teenage suspect was charged with first-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The case is now proceeding through the justice system. In announcing the arrest in December 2024, the city’s police chief noted that Dejour's death was part of an “alarming” trend of homicides involving minors in the area.