In the early evening of October 28, 2019, a simmering family conflict reached its tragic conclusion in the parking lot of Sentara Obici Hospital in Suffolk, Virginia. The life of 36-year-old Earl Bryant Boone Jr. was cut short in a violent encounter with his own father. The younger Boone was walking toward the hospital around 6:30 p.m. when he was confronted by his father, Earl Bryant Boone Sr.
Surveillance footage captured the chilling moments that followed.
The two men engaged in a brief conversation before the elder Boone walked to his truck, retrieved a firearm, and returned to his son, who was by then walking away. The father then opened fire, striking his son multiple times. Despite the immediate proximity to the hospital's emergency room and the efforts of Suffolk Fire-Rescue crews who were already on-site, Earl Bryant Boone Jr. succumbed to his injuries shortly after being brought inside. The hospital was placed on lockdown as a precaution, and several vehicles in the parking lot were damaged by gunfire.
The motive behind the fatal shooting stemmed from a deeply troubled relationship between father and son. Earl Bryant Boone Sr. later informed police that he believed his son to be violent. He had previously fired his son from his job due to fighting. In the week leading up to the shooting, Boone Sr.'s home had been burglarized, and he expressed a fear that his son would cause him physical harm. He claimed that on the day of the shooting, he 'just snapped' and was not fully aware of his actions. A neighbor also recounted that the father had spoken of ongoing friction with his son concerning money.
Following the shooting, Earl Bryant Boone Sr., then 56, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and the use or display of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was held without bond at the Western Tidewater Regional Jail. The case was handled by a special prosecutor from the Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney's Office. Ultimately, Earl Bryant Boone Sr. pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. On July 14, 2023, he was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the death of his son.
