FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — A 39-year-old man was killed Thursday night after police say a woman shot him in Fairfax County and fled the scene. A 23-year-old woman was arrested Friday nearly two hours away from the scene of the shooting in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Police charged Kaitlynn Nicole Nicholas with second-degree murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Witnesses saw Nicholas flee the scene immediately following the shooting, police say.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Major Ed O’Carroll, who leads Fairfax County Police Department’s Major Crimes Cyber and Forensic Bureau, identified the man killed as Johnny Lee Robinson III of Leesburg.
“This is a tragic and brazen case that began with an argument in a parking lot, followed by a single gunshot,” O’Carroll said.
Lt. James Curry, a spokesperson for FCPD, told reporters Thursday that officers were called around 8:20 p.m. to the 3300 block of Willow Crescent Drive.
When officers arrived, they found a man – now identified as Robinson – in a parking lot outside an apartment complex with a gunshot wound to his upper body. First responders transported Robinson to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. According to Curry, a woman – police now say is Nicholas – was seen running from the shooting. Detectives believe she may have used a rideshare app to get a ride home to Harrisonburg.
Before the shooting, community members in the area said they heard an argument followed by multiple gunshots, according to Curry.
FCPD, with the assistance of other police jurisdictions, as well as a helicopter unit and a K9 unit searched the area for Nicholas. They also obtained surveillance footage.
Curry said police recovered a suitcase in the area of the shooting as well as a firearm and other property they believe is related to the shooting. O’Carroll said the firearm, which had an “extended magazine,” is believed to be directly connected to the shooting.
Curry said the shooting is not considered random and that the footage indicates there was likely some type of relationship between Robinson and Nicholas. The nature of the potential relationship is unclear, Lt. Erin Weeks, an FCDP homicide supervisor, told reporters Friday.
According to O’Carroll, neither Robinson nor Nicholas resided in the apartment complex near the shooting. Investigators made contact with the tenant of the apartment, Weeks said, and the person is not connected to the shooting and is cooperating with the investigation.
No other injuries were reported connected to this shooting.
O’Carroll said FCPD, Harrisonburg Police Department, and a U.S. Marshalls Task Force worked together to track down Nicholas Friday afternoon. Investigators believe, following the shooting, Nicholas took “some sort of rideshare,” Weeks said.
According to O’Carroll, Nicholas is in the Rockingham County Regional Jail in Harrisonburg, and she’ll eventually be extradited to a facility in Fairfax.
Milad Sharif, who lives in the area of the shooting, told WUSA9 he was driving home from Walmart with his mom Thursday night when he saw police cars surrounding his neighborhood.
“It makes every individual nervous. I’ve seen kids looking from their balconies from their homes to see what it is," Sharif said. "We’ve seen helicopters. They’re curious to know what’s going on in the neighborhood. It’s a tragedy.”
He said he was forced to park on the street outside his apartment complex for the night because of the search.
O’Carroll said the investigation is ongoing and he asked people to call FCPD at 703-246-7800 or the crime solvers at 1866-411-TIPS.