Christopher McDuffie

On a February afternoon in Stafford, Virginia, the life of Christopher McDuffie, a 25-year-old Black man, was tragically cut short. On February 21, 2022, deputies responded to a shooting at the Garrison Woods apartment complex on Garrison Woods Drive around 2:42 p.m. There, they found McDuffie suffering from multiple gunshot wounds in a courtyard. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but succumbed to his injuries a short time later.

The investigation into the shooting began immediately. Detectives from the Stafford County Sheriff's Office worked through the night, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence from the scene. Their efforts quickly led them to identify a suspect in the broad-daylight killing.

Investigators named 22-year-old Tarik Shiggs of Stafford as the suspect and secured warrants for his arrest on charges of murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. However, authorities soon learned that Shiggs had fled the state and was believed to be in South Carolina. In a collaborative effort, the Stafford County Sheriff's Office worked closely with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Fugitive Team and the Sumter County Sheriff's Office to track him down.

Their joint efforts paid off when, on February 25, 2022, authorities in South Carolina located and arrested Tarik Shiggs. He was taken into custody and held at the Sumter County Detention Center before being extradited back to Stafford County to face the charges against him. The case proceeded toward a trial, but in February 2023, the murder trial was postponed due to a lack of witnesses. The charges against Shiggs remain pending.