In the early morning hours of a summer Sunday in Virginia Beach, a young life was tragically cut short. On July 12, 1992, at approximately 12:30 a.m., 15-year-old Reginald “Reggie” Basnight, Jr., a Black male and a student at Salem High School, was gunned down in the 1200 block of Glyndon Drive. An argument, reportedly with an individual in a small white car, preceded the fatal shooting.
Witnesses stated the dispute was over a girl.
Responding to reports of gunfire, police and rescue personnel found the teenager lying in the doorway of a home, bleeding from a gunshot wound to his chest. Despite the efforts of emergency responders, Reginald succumbed to his injuries at the scene. The sudden and violent end to a young life sent ripples of shock and grief through the community and left his family devastated.
In the years that have followed, Reginald’s death has remained an active homicide investigation, a cold case that the Virginia Beach Police Department has been unable to close. Although witnesses provided descriptions of the suspect and the vehicle, no arrests have ever been made in connection with the shooting. The individual who pulled the trigger and the small white car they were driving have seemingly vanished, leaving behind a family’s unanswered questions and a community’s unresolved sorrow. Authorities continue to appeal to the public for any information that might lead to a breakthrough and finally bring justice for Reginald Basnight.
