Roland Howard Frazier, a 23-year-old Black/African American man from Beckley, West Virginia, lost his life after gunfire erupted during a large gathering in the Maxwell Hill area during the early hours of September 14, 2014. Police said a large party was underway at a residence when a fight broke out. At some point during the disturbance, shots were fired, and Roland was struck. He was taken to Raleigh General Hospital, where he died from his injuries that Sunday.
The circumstances reported publicly paint a picture of a crowded social gathering that suddenly turned violent. Investigators did not publicly describe what caused the fight, how many people were directly involved in it, whether Roland had been participating in the confrontation, or how many shots were fired. The available contemporary reporting also did not identify the type of firearm used or establish whether Roland was specifically targeted or was struck amid the gunfire that followed the altercation. What authorities did confirm was that the disturbance and shooting occurred at a home on Maxwell Hill and that Roland was fatally wounded.
Roland had deep ties to Beckley. He was born there on July 3, 1991, to Reverend Robert and Juquita Frazier and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 2009. Music was an important part of his life from childhood. He played guitar, keyboard and trumpet, sang, and earned recognition through band and choir competitions and events. After high school, he attended Glenville State College, where he studied music, and also attended New River Community College. At the time of his death, he was employed at Applebee's.
His death left a large family and circle of friends grieving. His obituary described five brothers, a sister, his maternal grandmother and numerous extended relatives among those surviving him. Funeral services were held September 20, 2014, at Heart of God Ministries in Beckley, followed by burial at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens. The details of his life contained in his obituary show that the shooting ended the life of someone whose interests and ambitions extended well beyond the brief circumstances recorded in the initial police report.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Beckley police were investigating, but authorities had made no arrests. Despite the apparent presence of numerous people at the party, the initial public report did not identify a shooter or even publicly name a person of interest. The online sources located for the case do not provide a subsequent announcement identifying a suspect, an arrest on charges connected to Roland's death, an indictment, a trial or a conviction. As a result, there is no reliable publicly available information from the sources located establishing who fired the fatal shot or whether anyone was ultimately prosecuted for the shooting.
