In the early moments of April 15, 2009, a night of video games and friendship during spring break turned into a tragedy that would haunt a Chesapeake, Virginia community for years to come. Joshua Gunther Compton, a 17-year-old Caucasian male, was at his home on Rowland Avenue in the South Norfolk area of the city with his best friend, 16-year-old Mason Jones. Joshua, a student at Oscar F.
Smith High School, was recovering from a recent appendectomy.
Shortly after midnight, a knock came at the door. Two individuals were asking to speak with Joshua. He and Mason went to the front door and spoke with the men for approximately ten minutes. Joshua's mother, Diane Compton, was in the living room and could hear their voices, noting that no one sounded angry or raised their voice. When she went to tell the boys it was getting late and time for bed, a sudden burst of gunfire erupted.
Both Joshua and Mason were shot multiple times in the doorway of the home. Joshua was struck four times in his chest, stomach, back, and the back of his head. His mother witnessed the horrific event and tried to save him before paramedics arrived. The shooters fled the scene and got into a car where a third person was waiting.
Despite an immediate investigation, the case remains unsolved, and no arrests have been made. Joshua's mother was able to provide a description of one of the suspects to the police. She described him as a stocky Black man, about 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a wide face and squinted eyes, who was wearing a white cap or bandana and a dark-blue feather-down coat. Authorities believe three suspects in total were involved, the two who came to the door and a getaway driver. The families of both victims continue to await justice more than a decade after the fatal shooting.
