In the city of Suffolk, Virginia, a disagreement over the time it was taking to repair a vehicle escalated into a fatal encounter for 30-year-old Rakheem Smylez Scott. On the morning of Saturday, October 8, 2022, Scott was at an auto care center in the 800 block of W. Constance Road where his vehicle was being serviced. An argument erupted concerning the pace of the repair work.
The individual who was supposed to be working on Scott's car was contacted and initially managed to
de-escalate the situation. However, a subsequent altercation occurred, and shots were fired. When police arrived at approximately 10:33 a.m., they discovered that Scott had been shot multiple times. Emergency medical services treated him at the scene before transporting him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The alleged shooter, 43-year-old Ronald Richardson of Suffolk, remained at the location and was taken into custody by police for questioning. Richardson was subsequently arrested and charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony in connection with Scott's death. The preliminary investigation indicated that the deadly confrontation stemmed from the initial dispute between the customer and the mechanic.
