In the Woodlawn area of Fairfax County, Virginia, a senseless act of violence cut short the life of 19-year-old Darlin Ariel Diaz Flores of Annandale. On the evening of September 17, 2022, Diaz Flores was with a group of friends outside an apartment complex on Graves Street. The group had recently returned from a social gathering in Maryland and were waiting for a ride home.
Their evening took a tragic turn when a passerby, later identified as 18-year-old Kevin Alexander Lemus of Alexandria, exchanged words with Diaz Flores. The verbal altercation quickly escalated, and Lemus produced a firearm, shooting Diaz Flores in the upper body. Emergency services were called to the scene around 9:30 p.m. after a community member heard the gunshot and saw Diaz Flores lying on the sidewalk. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead later that night.
The investigation into the shooting led detectives to identify Kevin Alexander Lemus as the suspect. He was apprehended on September 20, 2022. Following his arrest, Lemus confessed to being the person who shot Diaz Flores. Authorities have described the murder as a senseless act of violence, stating that the two individuals did not know each other prior to the fatal encounter. It was also revealed that Lemus had numerous prior contacts with law enforcement.
Kevin Alexander Lemus was charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was held without bond at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center. At the time of his arrest, the firearm used in the shooting had not been recovered by the police.
