On a Sunday afternoon in the Bailey's Crossroads area of Falls Church, Virginia, a fatal shooting shattered the quiet of an apartment complex. Inside one of the units at the Skyline Towers Apartments on Seminary Road, 26-year-old Ahmed Hemoh was found with gunshot wounds to his upper body on October 30, 2022. Emergency personnel were called to the scene, but Hemoh was pronounced dead in the apartment.
The incident prompted a temporary shelter-in-place recommendation for residents of the complex as police began their investigation into the violent act.
Detectives quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence. Their investigation, aided by surveillance footage from the apartment building, revealed that three men had fled from the apartment immediately after the shooting. While all three individuals were identified by law enforcement, only one was publicly named as the suspected shooter. Authorities believed that all the men involved were acquainted with one another. The identities of the other two men were not released as they had not been charged with a crime.
Within days of the shooting, Fairfax County Police identified 28-year-old Phil Asare Darkwah as the primary suspect. On October 31, 2022, detectives secured warrants for his arrest on charges of second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The department's Fugitive Track and Apprehension Unit immediately began a search for Darkwah. The search came to an end when Darkwah turned himself in to authorities on the night of Saturday, November 5, 2022. He was subsequently taken to the Fairfax County jail and held without bond, awaiting further legal proceedings for his alleged role in the death of Ahmed Hemoh.
