On the evening of November 23, 2024, a dispute in a Manassas, Virginia parking lot tragically escalated, ending the life of 45-year-old Horace Roy Johnson. A Black male, Johnson was found by Prince William County police officers in the 8000 block of Stream Walk Lane at approximately 9:09 p.m., suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Despite the immediate response of emergency services, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting revealed that Johnson had been involved in a physical altercation with another man. During the course of this struggle, the other individual drew a firearm and shot Johnson multiple times. Evidence left at the scene, including spent shell casings and a distinctive pair of red glasses, quickly led investigators to identify a suspect. The incident was determined not to be a random act of violence, as the two men were known to each other.
Early the following morning, police located and arrested 38-year-old Zahir Adbul-Rahman Mujahid in the Manassas area without incident. He was subsequently charged with murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Further investigation led to the arrests of three other individuals between December 13 and December 18, 2024, for allegedly assisting Mujahid after the shooting. Ravyn Simone Tidwell, 25, was charged with accessory after the fact and drug possession, while 52-year-old Tazwell Nathaniel Blankenbaker and 41-year-old Nicholas Aaron Rojeski were both charged with accessory after the fact.
On March 27, 2025, Zahir Abdul-Rahman Mujahid pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Horace Roy Johnson III. Subsequently, on August 14, 2025, a Prince William County judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison, with 19 years and four months of that sentence suspended. Upon his release, Mujahid will be subject to 25 years of supervised probation.
