On a Tuesday evening in Norfolk, Virginia, the life of 25-year-old Shaquille Turner was cut short in a shocking act of violence. On December 12, 2017, events unfolded on the 6000 block of Northampton Boulevard that would leave two men dead and a community searching for answers. What began as a vehicular incident around 7:15 p.m. quickly escalated into a tragedy.
Shaquille Turner was driving on Northampton Boulevard when his vehicle was struck by another car.
Following the collision, the driver of the other vehicle, 27-year-old Dwight Walker Jr. of Chesapeake, exited his car. Walker then approached and fatally shot Turner. Shortly after, Walker turned the gun on himself, ending his own life at the scene. When police arrived, they discovered the two abandoned vehicles and the bodies of both men nearby.
Investigators determined that Turner and Walker were coworkers, though the specific motive for the murder-suicide remained unclear to the public and to Turner's grieving family. The sudden and violent nature of the act left his loved ones, including his mother and fiancée, without a clear understanding of what led to the devastating confrontation. In the wake of her son's death, Shaquille's mother founded a support group called Hampton Roads Mothers Against Senseless Killings to help others who have lost loved ones to violence.
