In the early moments of August 2, 2013, a burst of gunfire shattered the quiet at the intersection of Aberdeen Road and West Pembroke Avenue in Hampton, Virginia. When the exchange of bullets between two vehicles ceased, 37-year-old Roderick Deon Rush, a male from Chesapeake, was found inside a 2009 Hyundai Accent, having sustained at least one fatal gunshot wound to his upper torso.
First responders pronounced him deceased at the scene shortly after 12:22 a.m.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting revealed a wider circle of chaos and injury. Around the same time Rush was discovered, three other men connected to the incident appeared at two different local hospitals. One individual sought treatment at Sentara Careplex for what was determined to be a minor head injury. Two others walked into Riverside Regional Medical Center with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, one to the arm and the other to the leg. All three were treated and subsequently released.
Investigators quickly determined that Rush's death was a homicide resulting from the rolling gunfight. The vehicle he was in had been struck by multiple bullets, and its back windshield was shot out. Despite the presence of other victims who survived, authorities in the initial stages of the investigation had no description of the second vehicle involved in the shooting and had not publicly identified any suspects.
The Hampton Police Division appealed to the public for assistance, asking anyone with information to come forward to help piece together the events that led to the deadly encounter. However, the case grew cold over time. Years later, the investigation into the death of Roderick Deon Rush remained open, with his unsolved homicide listed in cold case databases, leaving questions about the motive and the identities of those responsible for his death unanswered.
