On a Monday night in October 2020, a group of U.S. Navy sailors arranged to meet at the intersection of Fiske Street and Aylwin Road in Portsmouth, Virginia, for a fight. This confrontation tragically escalated, leading to the death of 19-year-old Darius Dontrell Whitted. Whitted, a male, was an Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman in the Navy, having enlisted in November 2018 and stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana. The shooting occurred around 8:30 p.m.
on Woodland Street in the Cradock neighborhood. After being shot, Whitted was taken to a hospital where he died within 40 minutes.
The investigation into the death of the young sailor led authorities to two of his fellow servicemen. Witnesses at the scene identified 23-year-old Taiquan Malik Moore as the individual who drew a weapon and fired at least ten rounds during the conflict. One of these bullets fatally struck Whitted. According to court documents, the dispute began after Moore allegedly verbally disrespected two women who were present, and another man confronted him about it. After the shooting, Moore reportedly fled the scene.
Following the investigation, both Taiquan Malik Moore and another sailor, 20-year-old Stephon Mosley, were arrested. Moore faced multiple charges, including second-degree murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, malicious shooting into an occupied dwelling, and reckless handling of a firearm. Mosley was charged with one count of second-degree murder as an accessory. During the investigation, Moore claimed the gun used in the shooting belonged to Mosley. Investigators later recovered the firearm from the home of an associate in Virginia Beach where it had been dropped off. Both Moore, a Machinist Mate Fireman Apprentice, and Mosley, a Retail Services Specialist Seaman, were serving aboard the USS George H.W. Bush at the time of the incident.
